Madhouse Blues (Through the Looking Glass, Vol2)
by vendetta543
Summary: 2017, one year since they won their fights. Gwen and Peter had dealt with possessed lawyers, superpowered terrorists and anything else New York could throw at them. Things were different now. Heroes were an accepted part of life and new villains came along with that. Didn't matter; they'd still be the ones left standing. (Spider-Man Noir and Spider-Gwen crossover)
1. Homecoming

**Huh, that break didn't last long :/ Anyway, due to reader suggestion I made this its own story. This first chapter is mostly exposition due the new status quo of the leads. The next chapters will tone it down.**

**As mentioned before this volume will be far lighter compared to the previous one. That's not to say there won't be drama or angst, but it won't feel hopeless or just flat out depressing like the last volume felt like at times. Also on the insistence of readers, Gwen and Noir are still together, which is a mixed blessing now that a lot of the relationship and morality drama has been dealt with.**

**Hopefully it's not too much of a turn-off for readers given that vanilla romances tend to be considered boring. Breaking them up now seems more trouble than it's worth.**

* * *

One year...time sure flied.

Peter's lips curled up in a smile when he saw the edges of New York come to greet him, the noon sun high above their heads. It didn't look any different, least not from where he was sitting. Same buildings, same cars piled on traffic (no wonder Gwen swung everywhere) and the same blaring car horns and cursing drivers that thought they owned the road. It felt...odd, coming back after so long. He almost felt like a stranger coming back from war.

Well, he came back from France, which was worse in a lot of ways.

He stopped and pulled out his phone, _'At the place already,'_ the text said. It was logged ten minutes ago.

He was late.

Peter drove through the familiar intersections on his new bike. He had to leave Moon Knight's behind when he had to smuggle himself into South America cause the pilot wasn't willing to bring it along. A shame, but it was inevitable. At least Domino gave him the new one before he went back. He really didn't fancy hitchiking his way back to the city.

Gwen was waiting there for him. Peter stopped the bike and just looked at her. They'd kept up on phone calls and messages throughout the year, though there were a few weeks when he was out of contact and she'd yelled when he re-established communication. Explaining that he'd been held in a Hand torture dungeon before he could stage a prison break really didn't calm her nerves any.

Peter stopped off the bike and her face lit up in a bright grin when she saw him. She looked different now - her hair was longer, reaching down to a few inches below her neck, with the edges dyed pink instead of blue. Her attire consisted of a white off the shoulder shirt that left her right shoulder exposed with a spider symbol at the front, dark shorts and an equally dark pair of boots. On her arms he caught a few bracelets along with a choker on her neck.

He looked different too; not enough to be unrecognizable, but still different. He'd dyed his hair black (helped keep people from seeing the resemblance) and slicked his hair back and let a small stubble grow and swapped out the spraypainted and ragged clothes for a cleaner looking jacket, jeans and short boots. Now he bared at least a passing resemblance to his long gone brother, though if anyone asked he'd never admit to anything.

Gwen spoke first, "Hey there, stranger," she said, still grinning.

"Hey..." Peter couldn't stop himself from smiling back, "...I'm back."

"Yeah, you kept me waiting." She kissed him. Peter leaned into the gesture and was thankful they were in New York. No one cared enough to give them a second glance. It continued for a few seconds tlll she pulled back, "Been waiting to do that for a year." She chuckled softly, "Come on, let's go get something to eat. My treat."

Gwen led him to a small diner not too far away and they sat at a corner booth out of hearing range. Mick's had the best fries in the city, or at least that was what she said. He was just glad he could actually pronounce the food he was eating now. Wade Wilson's mercenary group might have been oddly successful despite their leader's insanity, but they didn't spend nearly enough on good rations. Good thing he didn't need much food to keep going.

"So, how was it being the wandering hero?" Gwen asked with a smirk.

"Traffic was monstrous and I could never find a good plane." He laughed under his breath, "I'm more curious about you. Didn't get a chance to ask you about it before, but apparently you stopped a nuclear apocalypse?"

"Huh, oh yeah." She rolled her eyes like he'd just asked if she got a new haircut, "So me and the rest of the Avengers stopped Hydra and Cap finally offed Red Skull. His daughter - who calls herself _Sin_, if you can believe it - went nutso and decided that throwing up every nuclear superweapon HYDRA collected all at once would be the best final fuck you. I stopped her and now she's in solitary like Evil Cindy is."

"Surprised the Spooks are still around to do that." They'd officially come out about their involvement in the Incident and that monster Kasady. There were riots, of course, claims about government culpability and Shield was taken down...well, that was how the story went. In truth they just handed over all the scientists responsible, disseminated their members and it was business as usual except they didn't have a flying base anymore. At least that was what Cindy told him.

"Yeah..." A tinge of bitterness seeped into Gwen's tone, "Least we're still here, right?"

"Yeah, thank you for my continued existence." He would've hated stopping armageddon with Ketch, Damon and Satanna only to get blown up anyway, "Didn't you also stop that giant monster?" Something those Skrull bastards left behind as a last resort. Between them, those Asgardians landing in Cleveland, the Intiative Program and that 'terrigen mist' thing that popped up in New York, he was beginning to think this place was cursed.

"Yeah, and Wasp thought it'd be a great idea to make me bigger with Dyne particles to even the playing field. I am _so _lucky I didn't fall on my ass and break the Chrysler when that thing clocked me. I'm still getting 'Attack of the 500 foot Spider-Woman' jokes."

"Could be worse. I've seen some of the things they wrote about a few other people." The Initiative Program was Stars-and-Stripes' idea of a country-wide Superhero movement. It had...mixed results. Most of the volunteers were well-meaning, but a few were just in it for the idea that they could do whatever the hell they wanted with government backing. And even those who just wanted to help people had about a 50/50 shot of being competent or like Patillio; and as expected people latched onto the latter and never stopped biting.

At least Lana 'graduated' near the top of her group. That was nice.

"But seriously, enough about me. Tell me about you! I called you when you were in France but you never told me anything. Gimme the details!"

_"Chat, we've got to catch the Akuma!"_

_"Sure thing, Ladybug! Hey, Spidey, you gotta hurry up!"_

_"...Kill me."_

"I...don't want to talk about it." He dug into his milkshake desperately. He'd have nightmares about bubbles, musical perfumes and mimes for the next few years, "I could tell you about the Hand base I found in Japan?"

"Yeah, no thanks." Gwen snorted, "I still can't believe they're still around after you dealt with Murderock. You'd think after they lost their pitchforked boss they'd just cut their losses."

"Greed and want are powerful motivators, Gwen." He took a bite out of the burger, "It's part of the reason why I came back here, actually. I've gotten some rumors that the Fingers are converging here. No idea what they want, but I can't let this opportunity slip."

"Aww, and here I thought you just wanted to see me again."

"Well, that too." It was cheesy, but he'd gotten used to it.

They spent the next hour just talking about things they already (mostly) knew. Gwen was in college now - which definitely put a damper on her heroing - and she planned to take a criminology degree. The rest of her friends were there too - Mary was on the journalist track, Grant was on a business course while Brant...well, he wasn't sure and he got the feeling he didn't want to know.

"So...does this mean you're here for good?"

"You mean am I leaving again?" She nodded slowly, "I...I'd rather not. I've looked around enough. New York's insane, but it's insanity I've gotten used to." That and it would've been nice to not be paranoid that Wilson would finally go insane or running into psychics who tried to make him eat his own gun, "Just gotta brace myself for the Bugle's new expose."

She held his hand over the table, "I wouldn't worry about it. Jameson usually just podcasts everything instead of going to the papers. I listen to it sometimes."

"Why the hell would you do that?"

"Cause it's funny. You shoulda heard him when he said that I eat pigeons cause some spiders eat birds and _obviously_ me chasing down pet pigeons for a friend means I'm taking them down and nefariously eating them." She rolled her eyes, "Oh, he's gonna have a heart attack when he realizes you're here."

"Him and a few others." He'd texted everyone he was coming back. Lana and Cindy mentioned they were busy with school and work and they'd meet him as soon as they could while Summers had a scoop she had to deal with. He didn't text any of the Defenders aside from Moon Knight, who'd given him the tip in the first place. He wasn't even sure if Castle and Felicia were back in town; or if they ever would be.

"So...what are your plans for now?"

"Not sure. Moon Knight's letting me stay at one of his safehouses for now. Should be good enough till I can find a place for my own." It'd be weird not having Lana there. Her dad (forced her to) transfer to a fancy private all girls school and one of the rules was that she had to stay at the dorm. She'd called a few nights in just complaining about everything from the uniform (that she had to fight a Supervillain in at one point, much to her annoyance) to some of her 'bitchy, entitled classmates'. She couldn't even get Dog with her since pets weren't allowed.

Oh, and her dad won the mayoral election, which didn't help her mood at all. When your daughter helped kill a demon in Times Square people tended to forget she wasn't supposed to do that with a group of vigilantes.

"Oh...well, I was just gonna say that my place is pretty close by and MJ said she'd totally be willing to find a new place if I wanted someone else to move in..."

Peter laughed, "What, didn't join a sorority? Isn't that how the college experience is supposed to go?"

"Yeah, and then I kiss any sort of privacy goodbye," Gwen waved a hand through the air, "The apartment's close enough to campus that I can swing over there." He practically saw the lightbulb over her head, "Hey, why don't you go to ESU, too? I'm sure Cindy can swing you a fake ID and it'd be pretty useful. Besides, you need a taste of the normal college life."

"Ha, yeah, sure." He smiled half-sarcastically, "I doubt that'll go over well, Gwen."

"Can't hurt to try, right?" She squeezed his hand, "What've you got to lose?"

"A lot of things, but...I'll consider it. First I gotta deal with the rest of the Hand." He still had no idea why they'd go here, of all places. This was the last place they should've gone even after he decimated their Japan bases.

"I'll hold you to that," she said, "So, about my earlier offer..."

"I'll think about that too. Don't wanna put Mary out, after all." At least she was doing well. From what he gathered from Gwen, Mary and the monster were at an impasse and reluctantly worked out some kind of deal. It could let loose provided it kept to the rules they established. He would've preferred if that thing burned with its murderer partner, but beggars couldn't be choosers.

"Think about it then." Her next smile turned mischievous, "Still, you wanna check it out? MJ's got classes now."

"...Sure." He was gonna be sore for a while.

* * *

"How's it goin', freak?"

Cindy groaned and nearly crushed her cup of coffee, "What do you want, Masters?" She didn't turn around. She already knew who it was - Richard Masters, the stereotypical tough guy cop cliche with a chip on his shoulder proportionate to the size of his ego. Ever since she got put into the NYPD Special Cases Branch - or, as it was 'affectionately' called, the Freak Beat - the guy had it in for her. It was almost enough to make her miss Woo.

"Nothing. Just curious what you're doing."

"Getting coffee, as you can plainly see." She had no idea what the fuck the guy's problem with her was apart from the fact that he was a damn racist. She barely even said two words to the guy before he was up in her face about 'not needing your fancy freak ass in here' and how 'she was probably working with the rest of those freaks'.

He really liked to throw the F word around.

"Huh, didn't think your kind ate people food."

"Look, could you hurry this up? I gotta finish up the Matthews case and actually do my job, unlike certain other people."

"Hey, I do my work; and I don't need to shoot shit outta my fingers to do it." She pressed her lips into a thin line thankfully hidden by her scarf. Did she just have a sign over her head saying 'unload all your racist comments on me!' or something? "Whatcha got to hide, huh? Rest of us here ain't coverin' our faces and then you walk in so high and mighty and-"

"Would you just fuck off?"

"Ooh, the freak got her tongue out!"

The people around them desperately tried to ignore the exchange. No one really liked Masters - he had a habit of stepping into people's toes and pissing people off besides - but he wasn't dirty and he got results. It would've been so much simpler if he was corrupt; then she could punch him in the face and not feel bad about it. As it was, the best thing she could do was file a report which went nowhere cause it wasn't like she could threaten to quit.

She really shouldn't have accepted this gig.

"Listen, asshole, I've been playing nice so far. You don't want me here? Talk to Captain America and Chief Watanabe, I'm _sure _they'd love to talk about why my freakishness is such a big deal and that you can deal with the Powered Crimes on your own."

That shut him up. Masters' mouth pressed into a thin line and he fumed all the way back to his table. It was a shame he was such an asshole - the guy's record was top notch and he wasn't bad to look at. It was also the other reason they couldn't just fire him. He had a good record and she was a hero (on loan), so _of course _she could deal with his bullshit for the greater good.

She _really_ regretted taking this job.

Sighing, Cindy trudged her way back to her office and sat down on the desk. The Matthews case folder was wide open in front of her. It was typical stuff - a rash of disappearances with seemingly no connection to one another...except for the fact that all the victims showed reactions to the Terrigen Mist. Her first thought was Hate Crime, but that was a hard sell. Most crimes of those types tended to be public and to share a message. Here it was kept to the downlow as best as the bastard could.

The door to her room opened and Jean stepped in, "Got some more cases." She dropped another folder on top of her already overflowing desk.

Cindy groaned and slammed her head on top of the desk. She knew why she accepted the job - Powered and Costumed crimes were increasing and the police needed all the help they could get - but going from attacking H.Y.D.R.A bases to dealing with asshole coworkers and being dumped cases about anyone so much as wearing a domino mask was not how she thought this would go.

Sure, there were times like the Matthews case where they needed her help, but a lot of the time they were just dunces who thought that putting on a costume suddenly gave them a better shot than a balaclava and a gun. Some analysts in big chairs blamed the Initiative Program. _They're goading criminals to put on costumes because they believe they need it to catch up_, or something. Considering the Initiative was critical to stopping those damn Skrulls she was content to ignore the tinfoil hats.

"Any of those actually worth anything?" Cindy asked, voice muffled by the wood.

"Bodega Bandit started his own gang of Banditos." Cindy looked up and glared at the older woman, "What? I'm just telling you what I read." Jean shrugged.

"I know..." Cindy massaged her temples and let out a slow breath. She felt silly, dressed up in full costume - albeit modified to look more sleek and less stand-out - at a desk and writing reports like this was a 9 to 5 job. It also didn't help that most of the officers didn't know what do with her. Sure, none of them harassed her like Masters did, but that didn't mean they were here friends.

They seemed...intimidated, if that was the right word. She was a big time Avenger and they liked her protecting them from the Supervills and terrorists, but not so much being at the break room where they got their coffee. Only Jean and a few others weren't weird about it, and that was probably cause the ginger haired detective had a vigilante gig on the side.

Speaking of coffee, that cup was still untouched. She really needed to get a different mask.

"I need help here..." Cindy muttered. There were too many cases, and even with webswinging and her spin-sense (new name ftw) she barely got any sleep and she'd already had to cancel at least five different dates. One poor guy even rescheduled twice and she felt like a complete ass when she had to stand him up a third time, "Or at least a secretary. These reports are worse than Crossbones."

"I'll take your word on that." Jean smirked, "Actually, I've got a new...partner for you, courtesy of your ex-employers." Cindy raised a brow. Someone from S.H.I.E.L.D? Well, if it wasn't ex-Agent Hill then she'd take anyone, "I'll send her your way when she gets here."

"Sure, thanks." Cindy waved the older woman goodbye and checked her messages. A text from Lana asking if she was free at any point in the week - nope, not the way she was going - and one from Pete about being back in town. She smiled. The younger Superhero - Initiative Graduate and all - had gotten closer to her during her training, though it was rough at first. Apparently Lana thought she and Gwen would be similar.

She sent Peter a quick text to welcome him back to town along with a promise to meet up soon. She'd definitely felt his absence in the past year, though less so than some of the others. Work kept her too busy to think too much about it and she knew he could take care of himself. No need for her to hover over his shoulder; he had Gwen for that.

The door opened again. Cindy looked up and her polite smile was replaced with a very confused blink at the new arrival. She expected Daisy or Kate or, hell, even Ex-Agent Hill. She most definitely didn't think she'd see Felicia Hardy walk into her office without a single hint of shame.

She'd heard a few months ago that she cut a deal with S.H.I.E.L.D: in exchange for a few favors and some others things she wasn't privy to (damn clearance levels), Felicia Hardy a.k.a the Black Cat would be granted immunity from all her past crimes. She was even getting back into the music game. Apparently the idea of a popstar who moonlighted as a thief and vigilante alongside Punisher and Spider-Man appealed to a surprisingly wide crowd.

Considering there was a Punisher tsum tsum doll being sold a few blocks away, she could believe it.

"So...you're my new partner?" Cindy raised a brow skeptically.

"Technically I'm a consultant," Felicia smirked, arms crossed and her white designer jacket and leather(?!) pants sticking out from the gray walls, "But considering our 'work' experiences, I'm sure I'll be doing more than sitting on a desk answering questions."

"Fine then. Welcome to my office, Mr. Lecter."

Feliica blinked, "Don't you mean Ms. Starling? She was the-"

"You dimension is weird, shut up." Cindy scanned through the files as Felicia sat across from her. As expected most of the new files were wannabe Supervills trying to make a name for themselves and, sure enough, Bodega Bandit actually did start an honest to God gang by claiming he had experience and seniority in fighting Spider-Woman. It was like New York was a beacon for these morons.

"I thought you'd have a bigger office, all things considered," Felicia said idly.

"Not in the budget," Cindy said without looking up from the papers, "Least the windows are one way so no one can peek in." She also checked for security cameras and recording devices on the walls and floor. So far she came up clean and her spin-sense would warn her if something was up.

"I get the feeling that there's some distance between you and your new coworkers." Felicia gestured to the window. A few employees milled about as usual, though a few occasionally peeked at the blank window with undecipherable looks.

"I'm used to it." Least she wasn't literally alone. She could deal with a few odd looks and Masters' annoying mug.

"I'll admit, when I accepted this deal this wasn't what I expected." Cindy rolled her eyes. Yeah, she could join the club there, "I don't think the officers appreciate me being here either."

"Yeah, well, Inspector Zenigata didn't like Lupin either."

"...Do I even have to tell you how much was wrong in what you just said?"

"You could, but then I'd web your mouth shut." Cindy smiled cheekily, "Anyway, I've compiled the most important things we gotta worry about. Right now it's the Matthews case." She turned the folder around and handed it to her, "Bunch of kidnapped Gifted. No familial relationships or anything aside from them all being exposed to the Terrigen Mist."

"Oh, that. Good thing I wasn't in New York at the time."

It might've sounded odd to say, but the Mist wasn't the start of a new age as people thought it was. Just about all the people who showed an actual reaction to the stuff got oh so great powers like smelling like a skunk 24/7 or being able to stretch their hair maybe five inches from their face. There were a few who got lucky - she was pretty sure that Ms. Marvel gal from New Jersey was one of them - but for the most part it was more an inconvenience than a benefit.

"So any theories?" Felicia said after she finished scanning through the file.

"Aren't you supposed to be the consultant, Ms. Hardy?" Cindy smirked.

"And you're the experienced Superhero," Felicia smirked back. It was somewhat odd, being friendly with someone who was (is?) a career thief, but she was used to it. Least she wasn't a murderer or a Nazi, "Well, if you want my theory then, assuming these incidents are all tied together, I'd have to assume it's either a serial killer or human trafficking. It fits the M.O of looking for a specific population group."

"Yeah, that's what I thought too..." Cindy frowned. It was grim, but New York was bad enough in some places for it, "But what do you mean 'assuming it's connected'?"

"Surely you realized that the location is far too large." She turned to the map and circled it with her manicured finger, "It'd be one thing if it was localized to an area like Hell's Kitchen or Harlem, the families live all over the city, come from multiple income levels and the last known locations are spread out too."

"I know that. Still, I doubt it's a coincidence that all dozen of people who got kidnapped just happened to be people who reaction to the Terrigen Mist." They still had no idea where that damn thing came from. Or maybe some people somewhere did and they were keeping mum; wouldn't have surprised her, "There've been a lot of incidents ever since people...changed."

"Hate crime. I've experienced some of it myself." Felicia shrugged lightly, "Still, if it was Hate Crime wouldn't there be at least one that was public? A stoning, some burning crosses, a beat up Gifted in the streets. These people just disappeared off the face of the earth from what I can tell."

"Yeah..." Cindy rubbed the bridge of her nose. She was good, but chasing after someone with no clues was freaking impossible, "I'm guessing that's why you're here."

"You know Spider was always better at the Detective game than I was." Felicia hummed. She probably didn't even know he was back in town, "Still, I suppose we could look around. I know some of these places - spent some time there when I had to sing in the streets to survive."

"You gonna show me your street tough friends?" Cindy smiled slightly.

"Yes, so maybe you should change your attire. Big name Superheroes tend to make them antsy." It still surprised her that people called her that. Her, the woman who spent ten years trapped in a bunker while the other person who got bitten had adventures with the Avengers and Fantastic Four. She hoped Ezekiel was rolling in his grave.

"Fine, just gimme a minute." Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

"Sure. Oh, and I expect my fee when we leave."

"Cool with-" Cindy stopped, "Wait, what?"

"What do you expect? I'm a consultant, not a volunteer." Felicia smiled. Cindy didn't smile back, "3000 dollars upfront. Cash, preferably. Doesn't leave a trail."

...She changed her mind. Cindy hated her.

* * *

Somebody poked Lana's shoulder with a pen and she was not amused.

"What?" she snapped.

Anya smirked and pulled her pen back. She was lucky Lana didn't think shoving it up her nose was worth it, "You've been staring into space for like 30 minutes now."

"So what? We're not in class, I can do what I want." Lana waved her off and turned back to the computer. They had a thousand word report on the Pelopponesian War due tomorrow, cause apparently their teacher hated them. She was worse than Ms. Hassan.

It was also the reason she couldn't go out to meet Pete. Damn preppy school with its stupid high grade requirements. She'd been tempted to flunk out on purpose just to get back to Midtown, but she knew her dad would just pump money to keep his new 'perfect' daughter in - better for his reputation if she was in this silver spoon factory. As much as she hated the idea of staying here, she hated more the idea more that she was here cause of daddy dearest's money instead of her brain.

At least she wasn't alone.

Anya Corazon. She wanted to be called Araña but the same assholes who kept calling her Bombshell titled her Spider-Girl and the name stuck. She'd been put off when she first found out she was her roommate - mostly cause she figured Pete's (not) sister was fucking with her somehow - but Anya had repeatedly assured her that it was just a coincidence. Teresa wasn't even in the city and hadn't been for months now.

And hell, it was better than the alternative. There were a few actually nice students around, but most of these assholes had silver spoons fucking welded to their mouths. A few tried to play nice at first, asked questions about what it was like to be a hero, but when she made it clear that, no, she wasn't going to get them a selfie from Spider-Woman or something equally dumb the fangs came out.

That and it was nice to have someone who knew the freak business. Anya wasn't open with her identity like Lana was (so far only her dad knew about it), but it was nice to rant to someone who got how frustrating it was having to choose between saving that person in need or getting to class on time case the teacher didn't think 'I saved someone from being raped!' was a decent excuse.

Oh and Lana's mom was dating her dad, so they may or may not be sisters in law in the future, but she didn't like to think about that. Her family tree was fucked enough as it was.

"Done." Anya kicked the chair back and stretched her arms above her head. If there was one nice thing she could say about this place, it was that the dorms definitely didn't skimp on the cash. It was wide, spacious and (somehow) comfy. Anya was a decent roommate too, keeping her messes on her side of the room and never taking any of her shit without asking. It was a pleasant surprise.

Didn't change the fact that she was stuck here.

Lana groaned, "Hey, lemme copy your paper for a bit."

"What? No way."

"Come on, you owe me!"

Anya looked at her in disbelief, "For what?"

"For...uh." She, she had her there, "Alright, fine, you don't owe me but I really gotta finish this up."

"Why, got a date with MVP?" Anya grinned.

"And deprive you of your crush? You wish." Lana snorted. She liked the guy, even if he was Captain America Junior in all but name, but he was too...nice. Too clean cut and too proper; like one of those all American good boys you take home to meet the family you'd see on those ads. It actually kinda creeped her out somewhat. She thought those kinds of guys died in the 50's.

"You know he's giving you all the signs."

"Sure he is." Lana rolled her eyes, "Now seriously, gimme the paper. I'll pay you back later."

"Better idea: why don't I help you so neither of us get in trouble for cheating and plagiarizing?"

Lana frowned and looked at the clock. It was 8 pm now, and curfew was 9. She had special permission to be outside later because she was an Initiative Graduate, but that really only cut it if there was an emergency.

She wasn't gonna get to see Pete today.

"Fine..."

With Anya's help they finished a little under half an hour after 9. They both printed out their works and Lana crashed on her bed with an annoyed breath. Pete was probably off having a good old time with Spider-Gwen right about now. She was tempted to claim an Initiative emergency and bolt out of here, but she didn't want to push her luck. Last thing she wanted was daddy dearest throwing some dollars 'for my daughter's behavior'. She still had her pride, damn it.

She checked her messages. Cin was busy (no surprise there), Norah was looking for a scoop (so about two days AFK if she was lucky) while her mom was on a date (she didn't want to think about that). There were a few others she read mostly halfheartedly - Kamala gushing about heroes, Hart bragging that she got an interview with an Initiative Graduate she couldn't remember and so on and so forth.

She stopped when she caught a missed call from Gabe a few hours ago. She tapped the call back button and waited, "Hey, Gabe." Anya turned her head and gave her a cheesy double thumbs up. Lana flipped her off in response, "You called?"

"Oh, yeah." He was out of breath, "Nevermind, I got it."

"Got what? What's wrong?"

"Uh, nothing much." Yeah, like she believed that. It wasn't that long ago when she caught the guy sneaking out of a gang hideout after nabbing some incriminating USBs. She had no clue why he was trying the vigilante gig too cause it sure wasn't because of the fame. No costume and he was happiest when no one realized he'd been there at all.

"Like I believe that, Reyes. Now come on, spill.

"A-Alright. Well, I nearly got caught earlier - I know, I know - and then someone saved me. I...maybe you'll want to hear it. I think."

As soon as the name was out of his mouth she sat bolt upright. This was _not _happening.

* * *

He was right; he ended up sore.

It didn't hurt. It was more that he was out of practice than because of anything else. He'd get used to it again, "You alright, Pete?" Gwen asked, content. She was lying down at the bed with her head on his lap and a smile on her face. They'd put their clothes back on- mostly. He managed to put on his pants while she'd nabbed his shirt for herself. There was only a couple of inches of difference between them in size, but it was loose enough to cover her well.

"Yeah, I'm good." He rubbed her shoulders and smiled in turn. They spent the past few hours just chatting and watching television (no news). She talked about her classes, her favorite and least favorite teachers, the students who rubbed her wrong (apparently Sally Avril was top of the list) and whined about how hard it was to manage studying and completing all her requirements.

"Good..." Gwen adjusted her place and curled in on herself a bit more, "...I missed you."

"Me too."

"I wish we could stay like this forever." She breathed out softly, "Can't believe I gotta go back to Psyche280 tomorrow." She talked about her annoyance with the class in great detail. Apparently the teacher, a tenured professor with decades of work, decided analyzing the psyche profiles of the Avengers and a few other select people was a good idea.

Normally Gwen wouldn't have minded, but the 'analysis' left much to be desired.

"Could you believe she said Captain America was motivated by jingoism and entitlement?" Gwen groused, "Oh, and she pulls up these bullshit statistics about how me and Kate are bought out because 'we so obviously save more victims of the upper middle class demographic than any other kind'. Uh, hello, I help out anyone who needs it!"

"Sounds like she's got a grudge."

"Yeah. I heard a rumor that I accidentally stepped on her car during my Godzilla moment and her insurance didn't cover it, so I actually felt bad. I went up to her as Spider-Woman, apologized and even offered money. This old bat actually laughs in my face and says it's so typical that 'your people' think she'd just accept my apology because I was so rich and famous. Tried to tell her I was trying to stop a fucking kaiju and she just tells me I should've been better cause that was all I was good for. Bitch."

"Why not drop her class?"

"I can't. She's the only one teaching psyche for my year since one teacher's on maternity leave and the other got into an accident. I'll have to wait months to get another sub, and I already spent weeks in that class. I'm not getting a zero for it."

"Really not selling me on this ideal college life, Gwen."

"Oh shut it." She pinched his leg gently, "There are some really good profs. Sit in at one of Professor Warren's chem classes. You'd love the guy." The phone at her desk vibrated. She tapped the screen and frowned, "Shit, I forgot I had to meet Jess. Promised her I'd help her on a case."

"Go. I'll catch you later."

"I'll hold you to that." She kissed him briefly before walking out to the living room, "Come on, Webs, time to go!"

The formless blob quickly finished off the last of its chocolate and jumped to its partner. It was only when she was gone that he realized she'd taken his shirt with him, "Damn it." He opened the closet and was relieved to find one of his old sweaters from before. No idea why she kept it, but he wasn't complaining.

He walked to the living room and sat down on the couch. He didn't get much of a chance to check the place out before considering the circumstances. The place was small and cozy. Bigger than her last place, though that wasn't exactly a hard feat, with two rooms instead of one and a wider kitchen area. Most of the furniture from the couch to the tables were the same ones from before. Gwen mentioned that she and MJ (though mostly Gwen) bought (not rented) the place, mostly for the sake of privacy and convenience.

Gwen wanted him to live here with her...

Shaking his head, Peter made his way to the street and found himself walking down the all too familiar path back to Hell's Kitchen. It was odd. Despite all the terrible memories he had of the place, it was the closest thing to a home he had here.

Speaking of...

His spider-sense blared an all too familiar tun. He walked to the deserted side street and frowned when he saw a man and a woman held up by a group of thugs. The Kitchen was doing better now that 'The Beast's corrupting influence have been purged from its roots' (Moon Knight's words, not his), but things didn't improve overnight. There was decades of rooted evil in this place.

Mugging and a kidnapping all in one. This time they were brazen, doing it out in the open when someone could just walk or drive by. Peter pulled off his mask and the all too familiar feeling - that mixture of fatigue and anger - came back.

It was easy taking down all five of them; especially since only two of them had guns. Peter slammed the last one down on the ground and punched him in the face, "Call the police." He told the couple. They weren't injured, so he didn't feel too bad making demands. Besides, he needed to make sure these two actually went to prison considering he wasn't a part of that Initiative.

"S-Spider-Man!" The guy said, holding his girlfriend behind him protectively, "I...we didn't know you were back."

"Well now you do. Saving the cussing out till after you call the cops, alright? I ain't in the mood for it."

"No, thank you. You really saved us back there."

"Y-Yeah." The girlfriend nodded shakily.

"Sure..."

His spider-sense blared. Peter turned and saw one of the thugs reach out for the gun with his non-broken arm and raise it shakily. Peter almost dodged out of the way when his spider-sense abruptly stopped. A blur of red came from above - a stick of some kind - and hit the wall. It bounced against the wall and hit the would-be shooter right at the side of his head. He was out cold.

"...Guessing that wasn't you two." They shook their heads. Peter walked in front of the knocked out thug and picked up the weapon. A billy club; this was an old piece of equipment, "Hmm..." Judging by the trajectory where it hit the wall it must've come from the opposite building. Someone was looking out for him, "I gotta go. Make sure you both call the police."

He climbed up the building and found no one there, "Being shy now?" He knelt down and looked at the faint imprint of footsteps on the dusty roof. It led straight ahead. He knew it was deliberate, but his spider-sense hadn't said anything so far.

Peter found the figure standing at the edge of a tall building overlooking a large chunk of Hell's Kitchen. Peter landed on (mostly) gracefully and stood up quietly. The guy knew he was there.

"You dropped this." He tossed it lightly over his shoulder. The red-clad man reached out and grabbed it mid-throw easily, "...Don't say much, do you?" He walked closer. Peter wasn't too surprised to see him. Ever since the Initiative the amount of vigilantes in colorful costumes increased to match the new Supervillains. At least some of them had to be competent.

"I didn't think I'd ever want you to hear me speak." Peter stopped. The voice was all too familiar, "How'd you enjoy your homecoming, Peter? Was it exactly like you thought it'd be?" He couldn't see his face, but he knew the bastard was smiling, "It's odd, isn't it? This place holds foul memories for both of us and yet we find ourselves drawn to it. The grime and filth is home for us both, huh?"

He turned around. His entire body sans his jaw was was covered in a dark red, armored material and at his side was the other half of the billy club. He might've mistaken the attire as a normal armored suit if not for the horns atop the mask's forehead.

He was face to face with the Devil of Hell's Kitchen.

"...Matt." Peter's fists balled up into tight fists and whatever sense of calm he had was replaced with a white hot burning anger. Of course he knew that Matt hadn't died that night at Times Square, but he'd always assumed the Chaste would slit his throat once they got all the information out of him.

His lips curled up in a smirk and he took off his mask. The same face he remembered except for his eyes. Instead of the crimson slits what met his gaze was a pair of dull gray irises that held no trace of the Beast's influence. It didn't do anything to calm him down.

"What, nothing to say?" Matt spread his arms wide, "I was looking forward to this."

He had a lot of things to say - why was he alive, how didn't anyone else kill him yet, what was he doing playing around dressed like the devil - but nothing came. He stepped closer till they were close enough for Peter to reach out and wring his neck and watch the life fade from his cold, unfocused eyes, "You..." He couldn't continue. If he did he couldn't be sure he wouldn't just scream in complete frustration.

So he did the first thing he could think of.

He punched him in the face. Hard.

* * *

**A bit shorter than my usual, but felt appropriate since this was the beginning. Anyway, we've got our new status quo: Gwen's still a big time Avenger, Cindy's been slotted into law enforcement as a special aid, Lana's juggling school life and being a an Initiative Hero and Noir's back to get rid of the last of the Hand.**

**Speaking of the Hand, we have the returning character of Matt Murdock, now known as the Daredevil. I know some people are annoyed that he's back given how much spotlight he took last time, but I'm hoping that without the Beast and his insane plot armor he can stand on more equal ground with the rest of the cast. **

**Anyway, a short version of the stuff that happened in the timeskip - Avengers disabled HYDRA; SHIELD was disbanded (except not really); the 50 States Initiative kicked off so there are heroes in every state now; the Terrigen Mist came down over New York (but no Inhuman royal family, at least so far; The Skrulls tried to invade and got their butts handed to them; and the Asgardians arrived and settled at Cleveland after Ragnarok happened.**

**Next chapter might take a bit longer than the last, so hopefully this one was enjoyable :)**

**Questions:**

**1\. Who should be Noir's roommate? Gwen is the only one to make an offer this chapter but there are other options available. The choices are: Cindy Moon, Gwen Stacy, Norah Winters...and Matt Murdock.**

**The tone differs dependent on who he's staying with. Cindy's will focus more on plot and crime, Gwen on lighthearted stuff and romance, Norah on humor and friendship and Matt...well, not sure, but I'm pretty sure it's gonna be ugly.**

**Lana was going to be a choice as well but I cut her out since one of her themes is independence. MJ as well was going to be a choice over Norah but Gwen would probably veto that hard. Matt might have killed Peter once, but he definitely didn't say he wanted both him and Gwen at the same time like MJ has.**

**...Five bucks says Matt will win this vote, though. **

**2\. For all my old readers, a question: does this story still 'feel' like Earth-65? I've gotten reviews (positively) saying that this world is basically an original one with Earth-65 as a base. I'm curious if others feel the same.**


	2. Love Triangle

**Alright, so first things first I counted all the votes and this was the result:**

**Gwen: 13**

**Matt: 13**

**Cindy: 6**

**Norah: 3**

**...I'm honestly shocked. I knew people shipped the leads, but similar to Bullseye I assumed Matt would take a landslide win. So, we're actually tied between romance (Gwen) or complete and utter chaos and dysfunction (Matt). If you haven't voted before do so now cause I'm gonna have to write that choice next chapter. Either that or we flip a coin. **

**Anyway, this chapter's a tad darker than the last. Apologies for that, but I figured it fits given that the drama didn't go away; the leads just have a better handle on it. MJ's segment in particular ended up in a darker direction than I intended. I'll try to tone it down in the upcoming chapters cause. Don't want to get too depressing again. **

* * *

The impact of the blow made Matt stagger back, though he miraculously managed to keep standing, "Heh...nice." The blind bastard grinned despite the blood that ran down his twisted nose.

Peter punched him again.

This time he did fall, though (sadly) not ever the edge of the roof. Peter almost went for a third strike but something held him back. Here Matt was in front of him without any of his old puppetmaster's gifts. Was it just old habits, his ego getting the better of him that he wouldn't even raise a hand to fight back? A year ago he would've said yes to that thought without a moment's hesitation...

Peter grabbed him by the scruff of his armed costume and tossed him to the nearby wall away from the edge. He'd barely impacted to it back first when Peter struck his stomach with a third blow that made Matt fall on his knees, "...Nice to see you again, Peter." Peter turned away and took a deep breath as Matt stood and fixed his broken nose. He was sorely tempted to break it again, "You held back on that last one a bit."

"I could fix that, if you want." Peter growled.

"Maybe later. I do need my jaw if I want to talk." He wiped the blood from his mouth and took a deep breath, "I suppose you weren't expecting to see me."

"Thought Stick would kill you once they got all they needed."

"So did I." He chucked soflty, "But, they haven't gotten everything they needed from me just yet."

Peter's eyes narrowed, "I doubt you could keep your mouth shut. Never your game to keep quiet."

"Oh, I didn't. I told them everything I knew - what I remembered, at least. Parts of my life are a blur due to the whole demonic possession thing." Peter turned back and gave him a dirty look. Matt just kept grinning, "Like I you, I was certain that Stick would kill me once I spilled my guts - perhaps by literally spilling my guts. Despite his callousness he's not one for torture so I assumed that a quick death was assured."

"What, you're telling me felt merciful? The teacher felt pity for his prodigal student?"

Matt laughed like he'd been told a particularly funny joke. Peter's right hand clenched into a tight fist, "No, not mercy: pragmatism. Stick is many things, but he's not wasteful. You may not be aware of this, but the Chaste has been reduced to near nothing after decades - centuries - of warefare against the Hand. They refuse to profane their teachings by bringing back someone via demonic means or breaking mind. Though, they aren't above a bit of indoctrination themselves when it comes to children."

"Get to the point."

"The point is that even despite your victory the Hand isn't beaten. Far from it, actually. You've taken their main patron and a large chunk of their resources and now, for the first time in millennia, they're cornered; and you know the saying about cornered foxes and jackals. Or Spiders, in this case. Your group sans Moon Knight has abandoned the fight against the Hand and they're lacking bodies to throw into the grinder."

"...You've gotta be kidding." He almost screamed, both in disbelief and utter frustration, "They _trusted_ you?"

"Trust is a generous word. Like I said, Stick is a pragmatist-"

"Cut the bullshit!" Peter grabbed him by the scruff again and pulled them close till their faces were only inches apart. Peter didn't get a chance to say anything before his other hand pulled out his pistol and pressed it against the underside of the ex-lawyer's jaw, "Everything you did, all the people that suffered because you, and he let you get away with it. I should kill you right now."

"Do it then."

There was no smile, no bravado in the words. Matt's expression was passive and his eyes looked into Peter's without so much as a blink. Peter's fingers inched towards the trigger and, just before he pulled, Matt smiled.

The gunshot rang out. Peter let go of the blind bastard's neck and Matt tapped his left ear, "I think you missed." The bullet impacted the wall next to Matt's head.

"Why?"

"Hm? I already told you-"

"No, that's not it." Peter put the gun back in its holster. No need to be tempted again, "Stick wouldn't have let you have free reign. Not without insurance."

"Know him that well, do you?" He smiled wryly and pulled down the collar of his armored suit. At the edge of his neck he caught a tattoo of a letter he couldn't read. It looked like old Japanese, "This isn't a style choice, by the by. Think of it as a...collar. I so much as a take a step outside of New York, enter anywhere I shouldn't belong or, God forbid, don't check in every hour? I will die slowly and painfully, which you'll no doubt take some well-justified satisfaction in."

Nothing, his spider-sense hadn't rang at all. He wasn't lying.

"Huh...how far are we from the road out of the city?"

"Very funny." He let the collar cover it again, "That and I'm useful in other ways. I was the former Kingpin, and while the law has cracked down on my and the former Mr. Fisk's empire as best they could, a confession from the man himself is just the final condemnation they need. Karen was very quick to assure me that I'll be on a short leash since, officially, I was just Mr. Fisk's lawyer."

"You fought with Cindy's deranged twin and you were possessed by a demon."

"Yes, and if you recall I also fought alongside you in Times Square. The videos still sell for a lot." He smirked slightly, "Karen argued that I was possessed, and considering there's a very dead demon in Times Square it's hard to dispute. Granted I'm certain many more criminals will use the 'I was possessed by a demon' excuse to try and escape taking responsibility. You'd be surprised how often people claim they were mind controlled into cheating on their wives or stealing that expensive purse."

"Huh, so that's it? You don't get to pay for what you've done..."

"We all pay in the end, Peter." His next smile was somber, "If you're worried about me escaping punishment, then don't. I'm going to Hell."

"...So what?"

"I meant I'm slated down there. It's inevitable." He walked past him and stared over the edge of the roof again, blocking his face from view, "The Beast's possession corrupted my soul. The Big Man upstairs isn't very forgiving when it comes to people who accept deals from the devil, you see, and in the eyes of whatever Justice there is I'm Hellbound. I could spend the rest of my life doing every good deed and sacrifice myself for Christ himself and I'd still go to the lowest circle."

Again, his spider-sense was quiet.

"You expect me to feel sorry for you?" Peter sneered.

"Sorry? Oh no. I can take a lot of things, but pity's simply distasteful. Pride is one of my many, _many_ sins." His smile was back in full force when he turned around, "I just wanted to reassure you that justice is coming, whether it be now or later. I expect Stick and Karen derive at least some pleasure at the idea of me attempting to atone for my past transgressions only to fall into the inferno regardless."

He stepped closer and grabbed the pistol from Peter's holster. Peter grabbed the handle and Matt put the end against his jaw again, "Of course, if you're impatient you can take my life now. Can't do it myself. Suicide's a sin, you see."

"Enough games." Peter pulled the gun back and re-holstered it, "You came out here for a reason." He gestured to the costume.

"You like it? Melvin Potter designed it. I had my doubts at first, but considering he received your approval I assumed he could be trusted." Well, that he couldn't deny. That body armor saved his life more times than he wanted to admit during his year long trip.

"I don't care about your costume. I meant why are you wearing it?"

"You want to see me bare that badly?"

"Sure. It'll let me know where to shoot."

"Hah, you have a sense of humor now!" Peter's right eye twitched, "Well, to answer your question, it's not as if Matt Murdock can exactly run around on rooftops fighting ninjas. I am supposed to sell that I was possessed and without the devil pulling my strings I'm just a helpless blind man. People so easily believe that those with disabilities are helpless and worthy of automatic sympathy."

"I don't see any ninjas around..."

"Fine then, you've caught me." He held up his hands in mock surrender, "I told you all those months ago that when I was younger I'd wanted to try my hand at vigilantism. A foolish thought, and it still is, but it's not as if I have much to live for. A little foolishness is harmless, and if I make a mistake then I die. Either way no one loses anything worth worrying over."

This time it was Peter's turn to laugh. Matt Murdock, the Devil of Hell's Kitchen, the Kingpin, the monster who'd causes suffering to hundreds if not thousands...wanted to try his hand at heroism.

He punched him in the face again. He stumbled over the edge and Peter grabbed his neck again before he fell out of sight, "Is this going to be a habit, Peter?" Matt looked up at him cheerfully, still hanging over the edge with his feet barely touching the rooftop. He could let go right now and let the bastard fall. Maybe he died, maybe he broke his spine like Captain Stacy. Either way it would've been satisfying for him.

His phone rang. He and Matt stared at one another in silence for a brief moment before Peter sighed and pulled Matt back and shoved him away roughly, "What's up, Lana?"

"Pete! Murdock's alive!" His (might as well be) sister shouted in a panic, "I'm leaving school now, tell me where you are-"

"I know he's alive. I'm standing in front of him now."

"What?! Where are-"

"It's fine. I dealt with it." This wasn't a conversation to be had over the phone, "Don't worry about me. I'll talk to you tomorrow and explain."

"But-"

"Trust me." He terminated the call and sighed again. He couldn't believe this was happening...though, maybe he should have. It wasn't like he hadn't dealt with worse, "Who else knows about you?"

"Your sister, for one. Stick and Karen I already mentioned, and Moon Knight is aware as well. I'm somewhat surprised he hasn't told you." Peter wasn't. The moon worshiper had a habit of keeping information close to his chest, "I expect Stick and the rest will expect us to cooperate. It's one reason I came to meet you tonight. If Stick sprung it on you I doubt you'd be so open to the idea."

"I ain't open to the idea now." Peter scoffed, "I dunno what game Page and the rest of those wackjobs think they're roping me into, but I ain't playing. You wanna play Superhero? Fine, just stay away from me. And if I hear anything about you going back to how you were I'll personally send you to Hell."

"I hope that's a promise." Matt hummed. Again he was reminded of the bastard smiling just before he pulled the trigger, "I feel like I should warn you that Karen will try her hardest to persuade you and I know from experience that she's got a way with words."

Peter scoffed. Yeah, like anything would convince him to work with the Devil of Hell's Kitchen.

* * *

"What do you mean you can't do that?! You can't talk back to me!"

Mary Jane took a deep breath and counted to three internally, trying to ignore the red-faced, screaming woman and her brat of a child on the other side of the counter. She wasn't like Gwen - she didn't have people lining up for her endorement or so much merch money that she could probably outbid the Kingpin.

This was fine with her. She grew up middle class and, while she was always hungry for attention on the stage, money really wasn't something she thought about all that much. All she really cared was that she had a roof over her head and enough food to buy her daily dose of fast food and soda.

But of course, money made the world go round and she needed a job to pay for rent. Gwen had insisted on trying to pay for everything, because _of course_ she did, but MJ didn't have it. Maybe she didn't make as much money, but she wasn't gonna be a leech like her deadbeat of a father. So, she looked around and found a job close by in a local theater stand. It wasn't glamorous, but it'd help pay her part of the bills.

"Let me talk to your manager! Now!"

In hindsight, taking this job when she had a murderous symbiote attached probably wasn't the best idea.

**_'Your boss forgot to turn on the cameras. We can kill her and her little chub ball and no one would ever know,' _**Crimson (calling it 'the symbiote' and 'crazy monster' was getting old) whispered.

_'Shut the hell up...'_ She hated to admit how tempting that sounded.

As expected, the night shift on a local theater wasn't exactly the most...enjoyable. She'd dealt with it - shitty gigs were part in parcel when they first started out - but sometimes she dealt with shit like this, "Ma'am, for the last time, I can't do what you're asking."

In the month she'd spent here she'd dealt with all types. Kids trying to sneak into R rated movies, couples who held up the line by making kissy faces at each other, and assholes who spoiled every movie up on view. You name it, she'd dealt with it. Most of the time they went away after she told them off and sometimes they even apologized, which helped restore her faith in humanity.

And then there were people like this.

"I said I want to speak to your manager!" The older woman said. She was old, probably in her mid 40's at least, with streaks of gray on her brown hair and a thin, bony body that reminded her of that Vulture guy Peter killed. Her kid looked about 12 or 13 and continued screaming and crying, "I want to tell him you mistreated my daughter and me! You are in so much trouble!"

Mary Jane's hands under the counter shook and her fingers turned into claws, _**'Tempting now?'**_

_'Shut up or I'm starving myself.'_ She forced herself to smile at the woman, "As I said, I can't-"

"You're so selfish!" The woman interrupted. A flash of her clawing the woman's face off while her brat watched burst into her mind, "All I'm asking is that you give us the movie we want! What's so hard about that?!" Her brat cried again about wanting to see Thawing.

"Well like I told you over and over again, _it's not showing anymore._ I. can't. change. that," she said the last part slowly.

Big mistake.

"Are you mocking me?" MJ almost rolled her eyes. She reined it in, "You can't talk to me that way! You're just a cashier! And you're so selfish that you won't even help a hardworking mother!" Oh yes, the 'poor single mom excuse'. She'd heard horror stories from Gwen about these when she worked at the Dollar Dog. She had nothing against them - especially since her own mom was a shining example - but anyone who used it as an excuse to be an entitled bitch can go jump on a tentacle.

**_'That can be arranged.'_**

_'That's it. I'm cooking the burgers extra well done tonight.' _It always liked things raw.

Crimson growled just as her boss came to her rescue. Mary Jane tuned out the conversation and took her daily allotted 5 minute break. She should've been used to crap like this already, having Crimson in her head made it difficult. She wasn't delusional enough to think that the idea of clawing the woman's face off wasn't hers. Everyone had those thoughts when the hormones kicked in. Of course, the fact that she could _actually do it_ made her pause.

She pulled out a packet of gum from her packet and chewed in annoyance as soon as she was in the bathroom. She would've tried smoking, but it still tasted like someone took a crap on her tongue, _**"We can use your aggression in more productive ways." **_Crimson jutted out of her shoulder and grinned that damn grin of its (hers?), **_"Come on, you know you want to."_**

"Do I have to bring you to Wasp again?"

**_"What? I'm following the terms of our deal. I don't even want to kill that Murderer anymore."_** Well, she'd definitely give it that. Honestly rooming with Gwen was a terrible fucking idea, but the blonde seemed to think it was the best way to keep an eye on her, at least for a bit. So far it worked out and Crimson hadn't done anything apart from make some insults, which Gwen mostly ignored anyway, **_"I'm satisfied with our deal. I stay alive, you gain power. We both win."_**

She spat out the gum without a word and walked out only to almost immediately bump into her manager. Thankfully Crimson had already returned inside; she was not looking forward to explain why she had it on her.

"Oh, hey, Brad." She looked up at the taller man, "What happened to the Miss. Glamorous Single Mom?"

"She told us she'd never come here again." He gave her a sheepish smile and a careless shrug.

"Aww, such a shame." She liked Brad. They didn't hang out after work or anything, but he was a decent boss. Better than the one at the place she last worked at, at least, "I should probably go anyway. My shift's over."

"Oh, yeah..." He scratched the back of his dark hair awkwardly, "Hey...now that we're officially off shift, you wanna go...out or something? Like, get something to eat? I figured you wouldn't wanna watch a movie."

MJ blinked and didn't say anything for a few seconds, "Are you...asking me out on a date?" Was that even allowed? Sure this wasn't exactly Starktech, but rules were rules.

"I mean, only if you're cool with it."

"Oh...well, that's..."

**_'He's harmless. Go for it.'_**

_'So glad you approve.'_ MJ grit her teeth and took a deep breath, "Sorry, I don't think that's a good idea. I mean, you're my boss and all." That wasn't the reason. She didn't even care about that or the fact that he'd already graduated college and this was his peak.

It was everything else; especially this extra passenger of hers. Again she felt a burst of jealousy for Gwen and Peter. They knew each other's problems and they didn't have to walk on eggshells on each other. What was she supposed to tell Brad - tell anyone, really - when she kissed them and a tongue the size of their fucking face came out? She knew Crimson would do it just to fuck with her.

**_'I would not.'_**

"Oh...yeah, guess you're right." Brad deflated and MJ felt like an ass, "I'll see ya around, I guess.."

"Sure..."

She went to her usual alley and shifted to her Scarlet Spider costume "Ha..." She looked at her reflection on a nearby car window. She looked silly, wearing the same halloween costume she wore that time they tried to cheer Gwen up. It made her look innocent, like she was just one of the dozens of people who bought into the Hero Craze.

That was the farthest thing from the truth.

**_'You remember where to go?'_**

"Yeah." They'd put a tracker on a scumbag last night. She overheard some women in the movie theater talking about it a few nights. Typical case - wife beating asshole, petty criminal, somebody no one would miss. She didn't kill most of the time, but she'd done it enough to call herself a killer. Gwen knew. She didn't say anything, but she knew. She didn't judge, at least not too harshly. Having Spider-Man for a boyfriend probably helped with that.

The place was small. MJ raised the window and came inside. The woman was gone now - they'd celebrated her officially leaving her husband a couple of nights ago. Of course, she overheard the bastard making threats soon after when she put the tracker on him. He wasn't going to let her go.

**_'He's not here.'_**

_'I know.' _The tracker said he was out in the city. She came here to wait...and find something to change her mind. She did this almost every time. She needed to be sure of what she was doing. Sometimes she found proof that the bastards weren't completely irredeemable. Sometimes she had to stretch it - maybe they went to church every Sunday, maybe they gave a stranded person a lift one time. Anything to show they should just be put in prison or maybe they were harmless enough...and if not, then...

Fuck, she was a serial killer.

**_'You say that like it's a bad thing.'_**

She was spared from arguing back when she heard the car outside, "Come on, bitch! Quit strugglin'!" He wasn't alone. MJ jumped into the roof and blended into the surface, hiding almost completely unseen in the shadows. She was far too used to this.

What she saw made any and all hesitation melt away. The man carried his bound ex-wife inside as she struggled. Her face was bruised and covered in dried blood while her mouth was gagged, though she still tried to scream and cry through the dirty cloth. He dragged her to the living room table and set her down on top of it, knocking down beer bottles and days old takeout.

"Thought you could get away, huh?!" He brandished a knife inches from her face, "Now I'm gonna make sure you know what happens when you-"

She sliced his arm off. He was stunned silent for a few seconds, just staring at the stump where his hand used to be, and then he _screamed_. The man stumbled back to the corner in a panic, arm pressed against his chest, while MJ dropped from the roof in front of the woman. Her eyes were wide with fear.

Mary Jane cut the bindings on her arms and legs and pulled down the gag, "He won't hurt you anymore." Her fear was slowly replaced by understanding as MJ pulled her up, "Leave now."

"Th-Thank you." The woman nodded gratefully and stumbled her way out. She'd call the police. Whatever she was about to do she had to do it fast.

"F-Fuck..." The piece of shit cried and squealed. She didn't feel any pity. She'd seen his smile, seen the way he laughed when he had that knife to a defenseless woman's face, "Wh-What do you-"

She grabbed his head and tossed him to the opposite wall. He cried out weakly and and spat out blood, "Sh-Shit..." His crying worsened and snot mixed with the blood, "P-Please, just..." She formed her right arm into a blade. His eyes widened and he found the strength to scramble, "Fuck, please! Please! J-Just take me in! Please" She stalked closer without a word, "I-I won't do it again, I promise! I-"

She stabbed the blade down and he screamed. The symbiotic blade cut through what was between his legs, "I see you out of prison, and you'll _wish_ I killed you tonight." She pulled the blade black and blood splattered the wall. She heard the sirens already. They could take him to a hospital and fix him up, assuming the pain and shock didn't kill him.

Mary Jane jumped out the window and swung away back to where she usually went,**_ 'We should've killed him,'_** Crimson said, as expected. Mary Jane ignored it,**_ 'You always do this. We find scumbags who don't deserve any mercy and you always give them it. You don't take nearly enough.'_**

_'That wasn't mercy.'_

_**'He still has his life.'**_

_'So does Evil Cindy.'_ And Red Skull's daughter and that Jack-o-Lantern bastard. She wouldn't call breathing a blessing for any of them, _'Besides, it's not like I always leave them alive.'_ That thought came out more bitter than she intended.

This was what she did with her time - hunting down the scumbags who slipped through the cracks ever since the Defenders decided skipping town was the best way to cool off. Sometimes she found them, sometimes Norah helped her. Abusive husbands, rapists, pimps...the 'shitstains of humanity', as Norah once called them. Norah knew what she was doing. She never said anything about it; just called her up every time there was someone who slipped through the cracks the police couldn't or wouldn't get.

She stopped and sat at the edge of the roof of an all too familiar building, taking off her mask as she went. On the dimly lit window across from her was Philipp Watson, drunk and sleeping with some prostitute as always. She just watched him. She came here every time she finished one of her nighttime 'excursions'. She didn't know why. Did she want to make herself feel angry, or did she want to convince herself that she wasn't too far gone if she didn't kill that bastard who called himself a father?

His arm was still in a sling. She remembered that all too well - she spotted him stumbling in an alley drunk as always and he got mugged by a couple of young punks. She was there, she could've stopped it. All of them saw her. Her dad thought he was saved - a hero come to his rescue - and the punks looked torn between fighting and running.

She just sat on the wall and watched as they beat him and took his shoes. The punks were confused but they didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth. Her dad cussed her out, screamed he always knew that the freaks were useless. She just swung away without a word.

Her phone suddenly rang. She looked down at the screen and narrowed her eyes at the emergency message from Gwen. That was something she used only for emergencies, _'Time to go.'_ She threw one last scathing look at her deadbeat of a father and swung to the texted address.

* * *

Hell's Kitchen hadn't changed at all.

Matt crouched over the edge of the tower and focused. He heard the cries, the screams and pleas for help; enough to make any sane man lose himself. Thankfully he'd lost that a long time ago.

The Beast might have left, but traces of its influence lingered. Even before its possession of him it held a special attachment to the Kitchen. He'd never gotten a straight answer when he asked. It could've been anything from some ritual taking place on the land in eons past to just liking the name.

Either way the effects were all too clear. While the rest of New York slowly but surely clawed its way to progress the Kitchen lingered, a festering, bloated corpse that the city continued to drag. The Beast liked it that way. It fed on the fear and misery of its denizens and amplified any and all sin and vice to those that lived inside. He wondered idly how people like Lana Baumgartner or even he himself would've ended up if they weren't born here.

The cynical, biting part of himself already whispered that nothing would've changed. Perhaps he might've delayed his descent, but in the end he would've fallen into the web of corruption that plagued New York all the same.

A voice message came on his phone. He pressed it against his ear and smiled bitterly when he heard Karen's message. She got him.

He jumped off the tower and let the winds buffet him. For a brief moment he considered not shooting out the club and just letting the ground meet him. It certainly would've derailed Stick's and Karen's plans for him and he was sure Peter would find some momentary amusement at the fact that he'd committed suicide. He'd probably visit his grave, if only to spit on it. Only his mother - his dear, sweet mother - would mourn him.

His arm moved before he could think otherwise and attached the other end of the club to a nearby railing. He swung in a wide arc and thought of the irony that he was swinging through the air like Spider-Woman was wont to do.

The musings didn't last long. He'd just barely attached the club for another swing when he heard it: an arrow coming straight for him. Matt twisted his body to avoid the dull tip and only realized his mistake when it suddenly exploded behind him.

Anti-radar chaff.

His vision scrambled and the surroundings blended together into a headache-inducing haze, "Damn it." He landed on a nearby construction site and pulled the billy club. Whoever was coming after him had prepared.

A rush of air from the left. Matt ducked the circular projectile and shot his billy club into another crevice. He couldn't fight like this, not with the walls and ground flowing around like the stormy sea.

He was only halfway to his swing when a heartbeat suddenly came from his right. Someone was kicking him. He tried to twist, but they were too close. Both feet impacted at his right side and he let go of the club. Matt bit his tongue to keep from screaming as he landed and rolled roughly on the rooftop of a smaller building. Even before he landed he knew his ribs were broken.

Matt forced his hands to move and he crawled forward on his fingertips. He tasted blood on his tongue, "Heh..." Three figures landed a short distance behind him. They weren't rushing; they knew he couldn't fight back, "Seems a bit unfair, doesn't it?" he commented airily. The chaff was wearing off and he was beginning to recognize their heartbeats, "If you all wanted to talk, there are better ways to-"

He was cut off when he reached an arm forward and a figure suddenly landed from above and stomped on the outstretched hand hard enough to break bone. This time he couldn't stop himself from breathing out raggedly and choking out a soft scream of pain.

"Move and I break your other hand."

He knew that voice. The only thing he could do was laugh softly as he looked up at the blurry figure, "Ms. Stacy...long time no see." He recognized the others behind him now - Kate Bishop, Samantha Wilson and Mary Jane Watson (likely a replacement for Ms. Moon). No wonder they were prepared, "So...are Wasp and She-Hulk around? Should I expect a building to be thrown on me or to be shrunken down to micrscopic size and stepped on?"

"Quiet." Ms. Wilson pulled him up to a sitting position and pulled his arms roughly behind his back, ignoring the damage to his right limb. She bound his hands together with vibranium cuffs, "Matt Murdock, you're under arrest."

"Yes, that's what I figured." He forced out a laugh and grit his teeth at the next flare of pain that ran down his injured arm and side, "You know the vibranium is unnecessary? I've already lost the Beast's power. I'm just a normal man."

"Yeah, sure." Ms Stacy snorted, "Now shut up already. We're throwing you into the deepest, darkest hole we can find and throwing away the key?"

"Oh? On what charges?"

"Being the Kingpin, leading an international ninja terrorist group, a few parking tickets here and there. Any of these ringing any bells?" Ms. Bishop said lightly.

"I would argue extenuating circumstances considering my mental state." Ms. Stacy's symbiote thrummed. She was angry, "If you must know, I'm going on trial come the next week. You can ask Karen Page if you don't believe me."

"The D.A? Seriously?" Ms. Watson asked.

"Even if I wasn't, that's not the only reason this would be unethical. Peter-"

As soon as the name was out of his mouth Ms. Stacy lashed out and grabbed his neck. Unlike Peter she skipped grabbing his armor entirely and gripped his neck in full, raising him up with one hand as if he was a child, "_Stay away_ from him." Matt let lout a choking breath when her grip tightened, "I don't care how 'innocent' you are, Murdock. You come near him and I will _end_ you."

"I...don't mean him any harm..." His voice came out in a soft rasp, "We're...working together...to fight the Hand..."

Her grip slackened, however slightly, and her next words were almost a growl, "Bullshit."

"Call him here, then. I have no reason to lie about this."

"You're not going anywhere near him."

"Spider-Woman," Ms. Wilson cut in, "I called Karen...Spider-Man's on his way here."

"What?! No fucking-"

"This isn't a discussion. He's on his way and we need to meet him."

They dragged him inside the partially completed hallway of the construction site and sat him on the corner wall. Ms. Bishop and Ms. Watson kept a close eye on him while Ms. Stacy paced and threw him frequent dirty looks. The only one who seemed to not mind his presence was Ms. Wilson, who focused all her attention to talking to Karen on the phone. She'd already lost - as soon as you let Karen talk it was only a matter of time.

Minutes passed and eventually Peter arrived. Ms. Stacy pulled the mask of her suit back and took him in a tight embrace, "Peter..." She continued the hug for a few seconds before reluctantly separating, "What's going on? He said that..."

"He said you two were working together," Ms. Watson finished for her, "Is that true, Tiger?"

"...It's complicated." He practically saw his scowl, "Page made a deal...and she's got a leash on him."

"No..." Ms. Stacy shook his head, "No! You can't be serious! You know what he did-"

"I know, Gwen! I know..." Mr. Crest...he doubted Peter would ever forgive him for that act, "Let's meet back up at your place, okay? We'll talk about it."

"So...what do we do with him?" Ms. Bishop gestured to him.

"We let him go so he can blow the whistle on the Kingpin's entire empire." Ms. Wilson said in a clipped tone. She dragged him up to his feet roughly and unlocked the cuffs with more force than necessary, "But make no mistake, Murdock. The second you step out of line not even Karen's word will save you. Are we understood?"

"Crystal, Ms. Wilson." He smiled.

Ms. Wilson, Ms. Watson and Ms. Bishop all left, leaving just the three of them. Peter stepped closer while Ms. Stacy watched them both warily, "...I'm guessing she made you a tantalizing offer," Matt said softly.

"You could say that."

They didn't say anything else. For a second he thought Peter would punch him again but he and Ms. Stacy just left without another word, leaving him alone in the abandoned hallway, "Heh..." He sat back down and hissed. The pain in his ribs flared with every breath and his right arm was most definitely broken. Even with Stick's old teachings he'd need a cast for a week or two.

He smiled and started laughing, trying to ignore the tears of pain that threatened to burst. That went better than expected.

* * *

"Here..."

Gwen accepted the cup of hot chocolate without a word and took a small sip. She felt naked, sitting in bed in nothing but her underwear and Peter's shirt. All she could focus on right now was the hot chocolate on her tongue; anything else and she would've exploded.

"...Do I even wanna know how you found out about Matt?"

"Lana called me. Apparently a friend of hers got 'saved' by him and she tried to warn you too." Her grip on the cup tightened, "When I heard that he was running around dressed like the fucking devil I just...I lost it. I called the Avengers, but Cindy was busy, She-Hulk's out of town and Wasp was in the middle of an experiment. I thought...I thought that he..."

"He didn't..." He shook his head and tried to offer her a calming smile, "I would've killed him if he tried."

"Yeah..." He was definitely weaker than before. _Human_, he said. It would've been so easy to toss him off the building and watch him crash on the pavement, "So...you two are really working together?"

"Stick and Page are using him as an attack dog. He steps out of line and he dies, then he goes to hell." _Good_, she thought. It was where he deserved, "Page offered me a deal. It was...hard to refuse, so for now we're stuck with each other."

"I dunno about this, Peter. You think you can trust him?"

"No, but I don't have to. Just have to trust that the ones holding his leash want the Hand as dead as I do. That, I can trust. Only thing Stick cares about is his war. Nothing else."

"I don't like this."

"Neither do I."

She finished off her cup of hot chocolate and set the glass down on the bedside table, "Well, just stay as far away from him as much as you can. Uh...speaking of, did you think about my offer? I'd feel better if I knew where you were now that that bastard's running around."

He looked away. That was _not_ a good sign.

"Peter...?"

"Page wants me to stay with Matt." She blinked, then blinked again, then pinched herself to see if she was dreaming. She wasn't, "She thinks it'll be better if I keep an eye on him...thinks that'll it'll help, somehow."

"Uh...is she fucking crazy?!" She screamed loudly, likely startling their neighbors. She didn't care, "No, you are not rooming with Matt fucking Murderdock! I mean, you wouldn't even consider it, right?!" No answer. Her blood ran cold, "Peter...please tell me you're not-"

"She said she'd owe me a favor," he said softly, "Gwen...I may be able to get Bullseye out of Hell. If I do this I get a chance to get him out. He's down there because of me, because he saved my life."

"And now you're going to throw it away by sleeping in the same roof with the guy who sent ninjas to kill you." She reached two shaky hands out and cupped both sides of his face, "No, Peter, _please_ don't do this. There are other ways you can get a favor from her, ways that don't involve you doing something so damn suicidal." She pressed their foreheads together, "Please. Just stay here. With me."

"Gwen-"

"_Please_."

"Gwen, I...I'm..."

* * *

**So...who'll Peter be rooming with? His overprotective girlfriend who can be just a tad smothering or the reformed(?) Kingpin trying to make a go at the Hero business? Oh, and before anyone gets any smart ideas - no, I don't plan to have Peter/Matt/Gwen room together. Gwen would probably beat Matt to death on the first night if we went that route.**

**And like I said before, MJ ended up being pretty anti-heroic. I wanted to make her lighter, but having _Carnage_ as her symbiote makes this a very difficult process. At least she mostly sticks to scarring and maiming rather than killing every criminal like Bullseye or Punisher. She's more on Moon Knight's level, though she does angst about this.**

**Question:**

**1\. So I'm curious; did people find Matt sympathetic when he was getting his ass beat by Peter and, especially, the Avengers? Or do people still consider him (not the Beast) guilty of what happened in V1 and feel he deserves it? I'm still deciding on how much POV he should get. **

**Review Answers:**

**NeverendingZero - Bad feeling? Why? The worst they'd get are noise complaints. As for the plot, it's more like a cohesive comic - each lead has their own baddie but they're all tangentially connected together so it's not completely disjointed.**

**Bagration - Hope the edge here wasn't too bad. **

**ObscureAbsurdity - What references? The only intentional one I kinda made was Lana being in a private school and I planned that before watching SV.**

**HopeIsAnIllusion - Netlix version. He needs that padding.**

**Davidashton2099 - Red spandex pure insanity. Might appear later, might not. Depends.**

**Deathtowaterbottles - Considering how wonky Earth-65 is, who's to say Miles Warren is insane and obsessed with Gwen?**

**Brave2000 - Noir still has nightmares about France.**

**Titan616 - I'm pretty sure if Chat and Ladybug came to New York Peter would run away screaming :P Anyway, it's come down to Gwen and Matt. Unless we get a landslide, Cindy's out.**

**Vengeance208 - I ask questions cause it helps get the audience invested and because half the reason I'm writing is for the readers :) I don't find your review arrogant; as I mentioned before I love long feedback. Also, my main complaint about Peter/Gwen is many people tend to dismiss their very real flaws and say they're 'made for each other'. If they took the good and the bad I'd be cool with it. **

**AnUnorthodoxDecision - Cindy's out. Now it's between Matt and Gwen.**

**That One Guy - Jean De Wolfe is Wraith in this story.**

**Koryu - Thanks for the compliment :D**

**Guest 1 - Gwen does nudge Peter to be more normal by hanging out on campus. It's...slow going.**

**Cha0s4ever - Gwen and Peter would definitely be kinda mushy/have a newlyweds feel. Noir and Matt is more dysfunctional.**

**Guest 2 - Matt teaming up with a civilian is difficult since no one else trusts him, especially not Norah who was the one who first exposed him.**

**Guest 3 - Peter does still get banged up; it's just less frequent.**

**RedHood001 - Huh, been a while since I saw ya :) And yeah, Matt and Peter would be kinda destructive, but some people would like that.**

**Guest 4 - Hmm...I'd definitely be interested in doing podcast sections. Maybe little omakes.**


	3. Daily Heroics

**Well, as you can probably tell from the new cover, shoutout to XcelltasticX for editing it, we have our winner for the roommate vote. Exact numbers are:**

**Gwen Stacy: 27**

**Matt Murdock: 15**

**Cindy Moon: 1**

**Norah Winters: 1**

**Yeah...Gwen won this by a _landslide_. It was actually pretty even for a bit there until the latest reviews just became a cavalcade of 'Gwen!' votes. I wonder if people were turned off due to the way Matt and Peter interacted in the rooftop? Who knows. Anyway, this means we'll get more romantic segments...well, maybe. Depends on the answer to the question at the bottom.**

**Side note - Found out a reader actually did make a tvtropes page for this. It's called: ThroughTheLookingGlassASpider-ManNoirAndSpider-GwenCrossover **

**It's pretty small right now, so if anyone wants to add I'd appreciate it :D**

* * *

_J Jonah Jameson: "You're here in Just the Facts with J. Jonah Jameson. Now my various listeners - brushheads they call themselves, though I don't know why - know about my opinion on Initiative program. I admire Captain America. Even if she makes some lapses in judgement, I and everyone else in my generation grew up with those stories._

_But that's all they were: stories! Now we've got maniacs in bright costumes running around thinking the city is their playground! What do you think, caller?  
_

_Caller: "I mean, aren't they working with the police? It's not like they're vigilantes or anything."_

_J Jonah Jameson: Working with? Oh, is THAT what you call what they do?! __All I see are a bunch of children in costumes doing the jobs trained professions spent years learning and leaving the police to clean up their messes! Is that what you call cooperation?!  
_

_Caller: Well, Spinerette saved me from a Supervillain-_

_J Jonah Jameson: And who do you think brought those maniacs here?! Crazy attracts crazy; that's basic math! A few years ago we had regular crime and now we've got a Nazi made of BEES terrorizing innocent people!"_

_Caller: But Spider-Woman stopped that guy-"_

_J Jonah Jameson: He came here because of Spider-Woman! They're in cahoots! And I know what some of you are thinking: the Initiative stopped the Skrull invasion. Well how do we know that they didn't bring them here in the first place?! Isn't it MIGHTY CONVENIENT that they arrived just when the camps started popping up all over our country? Coincidence, I think not!"_

_Caller: "Uh..."_

_J Jonah Jameson: "Speechless? I don't blame you. It's a scary thing to think about. Now, that's all the time we have. Remember, you can order my book, Spider-Woman: Threat or Menace, for 59.99 and- what is it, Jared?! I'm trying to...wait, did you just say Spider-Man's back in town?! Ugh, I gotta...I gotta lie down..."_

* * *

Peter didn't answer her.

Gwen looked up at the ceiling with a tired scowl. He'd just looked away and said that he'd think about it. What the hell was there to think about? Even if she considered the idea that the guy was innocent - and that was _godzilla sized_ fucking if - she absolutely couldn't accept the idea of the two of them sharing the same roof. If Evil Cindy came back on her hands and knees claiming she'd changed Gwen wouldn't have done anything but throw her back in her hole. Murderdock deserved no better, devil or no.

Webster jutted out of her shoulder and rubbed her head against her cheek, **"Are you alright, Gwen?"**

"Not really..." She rubbed her fingertip over Webster's head, her scowl being replaced by a worried frown, "It's just...I don't get it. Why the hell is he even considering this?"

**"To save his friend. That's what he said, right?"**

"Yeah, but..." She chewed on her lower lip. She didn't want to admit it, but even now she couldn't understand Peter's loyalty to the guy. The man was, to put it quite bluntly, a psychotic asshole. Those pictures he sent on that disastrous birthday party were apparently all too common and she still remembered him using the dead at the Times Square massacre as ammunition against her. She was grateful he saved Peter's life, but that's the only thing positive she felt about that murderer.

**"Do you trust him?"**

"Of course I do."

**"Then trust he'll make the right decision."**

"Easier said than done, Webs..." She turned to the right and curled in on herself. She wanted to go out and patrol to blow off some steam, but she knew she had to get up early tomorrow for classes. Psyche280 first thing in the morning and Ms. Gonzales was meticulous with attendance. Gwen didn't know why, though; wasn't like she cared if people actually paid attention. Maybe she just wanted an audience for her anti-Super rants.

Eventually she drifted off into a not so peaceful sleep and woke up to the sun shining through the window, "Time is it...?" She looked at her phone and frowned at the 8:17 that greeted her. Classes started at 9 and it'd take 15 minutes to walk to campus. Swinging over there was a no-go. Cap didn't want anyone catching on about her frequent haunts, or so she said.

She put on a pair of cargo shorts and sandals (Peter's shirt fit well enough) and walked out to an empty living room, "Gone already, MJ?" She sighed and took some chocolate from the fridge while she made toast. Despite being roommates she and MJ didn't talk much nowadays. It was gradual at first; so gradual she didn't notice until later that MJ was practically never at home.

For a while she didn't think anything of it. They had different schedules and they still hung out during break, so no big deal, right? Well, yeah, but that was before she saw Norah text MJ about a guy who made local headlines about getting off from a rape charge cause his dad knew some guy who could grease some palms. Even then she could've ignored it if the guy didn't show up the next day hanging from a post by his arms with a far too suspicious bleeding spot between his legs and the word 'RAPIST' carved into his chest.

The guy begged to be put in prison afterwards and that was the last she saw of him.

Gwen knew MJ had done it, and MJ knew that she knew. They never talked about it. Gwen tried, God knew she did, but every time she even got close to broaching the subject the redhead would suddenly clam up or make an excuse about work or a project. Wasp assured her that the symbiote couldn't take control and her physical state was stable. It didn't do much to calm her down.

"First MJ and now Peter. Why are my friends such a pain in the ass?" She munched on her toast bitterly as she made the short walk to campus. MJ'd been all too eager to offer to move out when she heard Peter was coming back. Gwen didn't tell Peter, but she had her own reservations on it even if she hoped some space might actually do them both some good.

Gwen made it to class just in time. She took her normal seat at the back and was already glazing off five minutes in, "Clearly these 'Gifted'-" Ms. Gonzales said it the same way someone would say an STD, "-received the luck of the draw. Which is all well and good. Sometimes people get lucky and sometimes they don't. But now, that clearly wasn't enough for them. They had to lord it over everyone."

"Oh my God, this is such bullshit..." Gwen muttered. The person next to her was too busy being asleep to comment.

"Don't be fooled into thinking that these so-called 'Superheroes' have your best interests in mind. They do not. It's clear by their behavior that they're motivated by a sense of entitlement and a desire to flaunt their new 'gifts'. Just look at the amount of colatteral damage they incur trying to 'save' us." Meaning her car, which Gwen stepped on when she was trying to stop a fucking Godzilla monster from destroying the entire city. But apparently that didn't matter, right?

She was suddenly reminded of Murderdock's lecture from before. People didn't want heroes. They just wanted to get through the day with the minimal amount of effort and get a cookie at the end of it. At the time she'd been content to ignore it, but people like Ms. Gonzales really made her doubt. She knew it was petty. After all, the rest of the city (apart from a few outspoken dicks) were appreciative about not being flattened by a giant space monster.

Still, having to listen to the old hag rant about how they were so selfish every couple of days pissed her off to no end.

Gwen pulled out her phone under the table and looked through tweeter. She-Hulk pushed her to make an account for Spider-Woman (she already had over 5 million followers), mostly to control any controversies/allow people to contact her easier and partially to make sure no one else tried any shit under her name. Wasp had made sure to set up her phone with router blockers to make sure no one could try anything either.

She wasn't dumb enough to log in to said account at school, but going in as Gwen Stacy shouldn't have mattered. She clicked the Spider-Woman account - FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman...hey, no one said she had to be creative - and glossed through some of the posts aimed at/about her.

It was the usual shit. A lot of people giving thanks for her continued patrols (take that, Ms. Gonzales), some people asking questions she had no plans of answering (no, she wasn't going to tweet out her measurements or the exact details on her powers) and at least one person who claimed he went out on a date with her (she'd just ignore that since it was the dozenth in two weeks).

And then she saw something that drew her attention.

**SuperiorSpider: Hey, anyone heard Spider-Man's back in town?**

**ScarletSpider: no shit?**

**SuperiorSpider: Yeah. Friend has an older brother who's a police officer and they arrested like five guys who attacked a guy and tried to rape his girlfriend. Couple said Spider-Man saved them.**

**Blade: how'd they do know it's Spider-Man? could be one of the Spider Worshipers.**

**SuperiorSpider: *web . jpg * that's his web right? **

**ScarletSpider: dunno. think** **FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman knows?**

**GW: Didn't they break up?**

**MsAmerica: wut? lol no. whyd you think that?**

**GW: Guys leaves the city for like a year. You don't think they're still together?"**

**MsAmerica: pretty sure she'd say something if she broke up with her zombie bf.**

**ScarletSpider: JJAtHomes gonna flip when he hears.**

**SuperiorSpider: New podcast coming out tonight. Eagerly awaiting with popcorn to watch the meltdown :3**

The posts devolved into more arguments on her relationship status along with some more stupid stuff. She logged out and went to Readthat to look for anything new. She-Hulk also insisted she do it at least one every couple of days at the minimum. In some ways some troll behind the computer could be worse than a Supervillain chucking bombs.

Personally Gwen didn't agree, but she had an hour to waste so screw it. She went to the Spideyspam thread and looked at the top posts.

**Spider-Woman sightings  
**Posted 8 months ago by CampbellSoupBoy  
**890 Comments Share Report**

**Spider-Woman fanart - NO NSFW TRASH  
**Posted 3 months ago by icantthinkofaname  
**497 Comments Share Report**

**New Spiders on the block: Spider-Girl appreciation thread  
**Posted 1 month ago by GenericSnowflake  
**87 Comments Share Report**

**Spectacular Spider-Woman #15 - Weekly Comic Discussion Thread  
**Posted 2 days ago by That_One_Guy  
**851 Comments Share Report**

She scanned through the top posts. Nothing offensive so far, and apart from a few trolls, which was expected, it was all good. Gwen couldn't help but laugh under her breath when she saw people discussing this week's issue of the comic. Most of it was the usual stuff - pacing, plot, character design, the youzhe. So far it was selling pretty well and she got a decent kickback from her likeness being used.

The next hour was spent glancing through various sites while Ms. Gonzales continued to rant and rave. Gwen had no clue how she planned to grade them. Would probably just make them do a paper that counted for 90% of their grade or something.

Gwen heaved a sigh of relief as soon as class ended. Next class was the one with Prof Warren and that one she had no problems listening to. Sure, she wasn't that good with Biochem (or science in general) but he was good at explaining and never got on your case no matter how dumb the question was. As long as you were willing to learn he was willing to teach.

Gwen spent the next part of one and a half hours just taking notes and occasionally answering questions, "And you can see just how different genetics can be when exposed to even the most minor of stimuli." Prof Warren gestured to the video on the screen, "Any of you saw that Jude Law movie? Doesn't matter. Point is that in possibly just a few decades time gene splicing will be commonplace."

"What would that do?" A girl near the front asked.

"Anything, really. You can't get superpowers, of course, but imagine if you could adjust your intelligence, your appearance, your natural aptitude with a quick few combinations." The video ended, "Ah, but of course this is all framework currently. We'll all probably be long gone by the time the beginning trials even start."

Gwen kept her mouth shut. It probably wouldn't do to tell anyone that she knew Captain America's clone and that she herself was technically gene altered herself considering she and Webster were inseparable now.

Class ended on a reminder to study for next week's test. Gwen was almost out the door before she remembered yesterday's conversation, "Hey, Professor Warren?" She tightened her hold on the straps of her backpack when he turned to face her with a friendly smile. "You still do sit ins, right?"

"Of course. Know somebody?"

"Kinda..." It couldn't hurt to ask, could it? "I have this friend. He's _really_ good at science - has been since we were kids - but he couldn't attend school till recently. I'm trying to convince him to attend ESU and he's got his doubts. I was kinda hoping that he could sit in on your class and..."

"And that'd convince him to attend here?" He finished. Gwen nodded and his smile widened, "Well, it's flattering that you consider my class good for this. I don't see why not. Just remember that I only allow two sit ins, but if this guy's as good as you claim then I'm sure that won't be a problem."

"That should be good. Thanks, sir!" He waved goodbye and Gwen made her way to The Bean, a bit lighter in step than before. Peter seemed a hard sell, but she knew him. Science was always something he enjoyed, messed up memories or no. He wouldn't have spent that first month reading through every science textbook she had if he wasn't the same nerd she always knew.

She was the first one to arrive. Gwen stepped inside and walked to the counter, "Hey, Eugene. Mocha caramel."

If there was someone she didn't expect when she first came here all those months ago, it was Eugene Patillio. Apparently he'd started attending ESU and worked at the coffee shop for extra pocket money. Or at least that was what she overheard. She didn't pry into it too much. The guy was nice, but unless he was in danger she really didn't think it was any of her business what he did with his time.

The owner definitely tried to take advantage. He'd promoted and advertised that he now had a bonafide hero working for him behind the counter. A few people got excited, but when they realized it was Frog-Man that deflated quickly. Didn't matter; guy still sold some coffee for the people that went.

Nevermind the fact that Eugene didn't pass the Initiative. Technically Peter and MJ didn't either so she didn't say anything.

"Sure." Eugene rang up the register, "That'll be 3.50."

She handed him a 5, "Keep the change."

**'We should've gotten chocolate.'**

_'You ate this morning. Shush.'_

She took a sip of the caramel-y goodness and sat outside in the shade after ordering the usual for the others to save some time. MJ was the next to arrive and seemed reluctant when Gwen patted the seat next to her on the table, "Hey, Gwen." She sat down across from her instead and sipped her own drink, some strawberry thing that was way too sweet for Gwen's taste, "How was the hell class?"

"Same as always." She shrugged one shoulder, "Did you come back last night?"

"Nah, went back home for a bit. Thought you'd want your privacy." MJ eyed the shirt she wore and Gwen suddenly felt self-conscious. It wasn't _that _loose on her, "Didn't want to be a third wheel, you know?"

"You wouldn't have been-"

"Oooh, someone looks like they got a good dicking."

Both Mary Jane and Gwen jumped at the sudden voice. Hand on her chest, Gwen looked up and glared at Betty while Glory facepalmed behind the bespectacled brunette, "I can't believe you actually said it..." Glory muttered.

"Hey, I call it like I see it." Betty shrugged without a care and sat next to Gwen, drinking her cheesecake shake, "We all saw how she excited she was when she heard short, dark and broody was coming back. Surprised she even came to school today. Figured she wouldn't be able to walk."

"Our resident future psychologist, ladies." Mary Jane rolled her eyes good naturedly at the brunette's grin, "You're clearly the best of us all, Betty."

"I know." Betty winked, "Still, I'm serious. Thought you and broody would've gone on a date or something."

"We're having some...issues." Gwen raised her straw up and down.

"Issues? Like, he couldn't get it up-"

"Not everything's about that, Betty," Glory sighed, "What's the problem, Gwen?"

"It's about our jobs...so it's kinda long."

"Ain't like we got anything better to do, Gwencent," MJ said.

So she told them everything...well, mostly. She left out the part of what they did after their reunion, though she got the feeling they all knew anyway; the shirt probably didn't help. Gwen couldn't stop herself from becoming more bitter and frustrated the longer she told the story. Would it have been too much to ask for them to have even a single day without things blowing up in their faces? She'd spent a year waiting for him and the first thing they had to deal with was Murderdock's bullshit. It was enough to make her scream.

Betty was the first to speak, "I don't get it. If this Murdock guy was was possessed by the devil, then isn't he innocent? What's the big deal?"

"The big deal is I have no clue if he is! I mean, what if he's just a bad man turned worse? I don't want Peter under the same roof as this guy!" She wouldn't want him under the same roof even if Murdock wasn't a smug, murdering prick. Anyone who dressed up like the damn devil after what happened to them definitely had a lot of screws loose, "I mean, I'm not crazy, right?"

"Definitely not," Glory said, "I'll admit I still have some doubts about the guy, but I wouldn't want him in danger or anything. I think you should try to convince him again when you see him."

"I'm not so sure..." MJ mumbled, "If this Murdock guy really wasn't in any control then maybe Tiger rooming with him'll do him some good? I mean, it couldn't hurt..." She looked down at her drink again. Gwen got the distinct feeling she wasn't thinking about Murderdock right now, "Didn't you always say people deserved a second chance? Especially if they couldn't control themselves."

She definitely wasn't talking about Murderdock.

"That's...That's different," Gwen said. It came out far weaker than she would've liked, "I mean, even if he is innocent why the fuck does Peter have to room with the guy? People like him don't just get to put their hands up and go 'it was just a prank, bro'." This wasn't going well, "So, MJ, anything you want to talk to us about?"

The redhead's eyes widened at the sudden shift in focus to her. Gwen knew that getting her to admit anything by herself wouldn't work, but with Glory and Betty here she might have a better shot. MJ's eyes darted to each of them in turn and she opened her mouth to answer.

"I got offered a modelling gig."

That...was not the answer she was expecting.

"Wait, seriously? When?" Glory asked.

"This morning." She pulled a card out of her jacket and put it on the table. _Kingsley Enterprises_, it said, "Thought the guy was just a creeper or a scam artist, but I checked the name. The company's legit and the guy was one of his agents. Apparently he hangs around campus sometimes looking for 'local talent' and he said I could 'go places'."

"Huh..." Gwen inspected the card. Definitely looked legit, "So...you taking it?"

"I...I'm not sure."

"Why not?" Glory asked, "Assuming this is real, it seems like a good deal. Can't be any worse than the movie job, right?" They all shuddered. MJ had regaled them all of the horror stories on entitled moms and flirty creepers she'd dealt with for the past month, "Besides, you could probably get some decent attention this way. Would probably help since we haven't done a gig in a while."

That was another thing MJ didn't like to talk about. The band had definitely fallen off on their list of priorities in recent months. Sure they still took some gigs here and there, but it could hardly be considered a focus. Gwen blamed that on the symbiote. Wasp told them that it'd still take a while - she couldn't place an exact time - for MJ's 'partner' to not be set off by the sounds coming from the stereos and instruments.

"It'd probably help pay for rent if I get a new place, I guess," MJ said eventually.

"Assuming Spider-Guy doesn't end up rooming with the ex-lawyer, ex-devil person who's currently running around dressed like a devil; which is pretty grim if you think about it," Betty chimed. Gwen scowled at her, "What? Just telling it like it is."

"Ugh, that's it, I'm done." She tossed her cup of coffee on a nearby trashcan. Well, getting to talk with MJ was a bust. She'd try again later.

Classes went by pretty easily for the next few hours and soon enough she was free to patrol and forget the stress of the day. That was pretty normal too - a few muggings, two attempted kidnappings, and new Supervillain...well, she said new, but really it was just the same guy in a new costume. Apparently Walrus decided to switch to Sea Lion for more 'brand recognition'.

Didn't help much. She still left him hanging and blubbering for the cops. If there was one thing she loved about being an Avenger, it was that she could be sure these guys were going to jail. She'd even checked in on a few trials here and there.

She also passed by White Rabbit and Frog-Man having a 'duel' and left them to it. The two were arch-enemies at this point and it would've been rude to cut in.

**'Can we pass by the shop?' **Webster asked in her best good girl voice. She knew it all too well; it was the same voice she used when she first asked her dad for a drumset.

_'You're hungry again? I just ate before we left campus!'_ Despite her words she was already swinging the familiar way. Still, she really needed to talk to Webster about its eating habits. You'd think they were eating for three instead of two.

She shifted back into her casuals and bought a truckload of white chocolate (Webster's favorite) before making her way back home. It was the weekend tomorrow, which meant it was time for her daily visit back home.

Jessica opened the door a few seconds after she knocked, "Sorry, didn't order diabetes. Think you'll want the house a couple of blocks down."

"Very funny, Jess." Gwen rolled her eyes and side-stepped the older woman. She set the bundle of chocolate on the kitchen table and kissed her cooking dad on the cheek, "Mmm, smells delish!"

"Burgers." Her dad smiled up at her. Even with being confined to a wheelchair it didn't stop him from keeping the house spick and span. He'd even joked about becoming a house husband, which Jessica always scoffed at. He was already walking a bit; he just got tired easier.

"Great." Gwen grinned. The baby monitor was quiet, "I'm gonna go check on Helena."

Gwen made her way upstairs to the new room and her chest warmed at the sight of the baby playing with the Spider-Man tsum tsum doll. Gwen was reluctant to part with it at first, but for Helena it was love at first sight and she couldn't refuse. She went with it everywhere. One time they forgot it during a park trip and she did _not _let them hear the end of it.

The baby looked up at her arrival and laughed, "Hey, little sis." Gwen grinned back and picked her up carefully. No matter how bad her day was seeing her dad, Jess and Helena always brightened it up, "Whatcha been doing?"

The baby babbled back excitedly. Gwen wiped the spit from her chin and kept her close. She definitely shared a lot from both her parents with Jess' dark hair and pale skin but her dad's blue eyes.

"Man, you wouldn't believe the day I've had. You're so lucky you get to just sit here and play." She sat down on a nearby chair and rocked her gently. Helena curled up to Gwen's chest and pawed at her face, "You know, I told Peter about you. You know him, right? You never go anywhere without him." Gwen snagged the tsum tsum with a line of webbing and pulled it to them. Helena laughed and grabbed at the doll.

They still had no idea if she had any powers; wasn't like there was a universal test for it. Captain America said they should just take a wait and see approach, which was fine with them. They'd love her either way.

Webster jutted out of her shoulder and Helena immediately grabbed for her, though she came up short due to the doll taking up her arms,** "Hello." **Webster nuzzled against the baby's cheek left cheek. She'd taken to Helena just as quickly as the rest of them, which really only made sense. Webster was family at this point so Helena was as much her sister as Gwen's.

"Come on, 'Lena, let's go down and keep dad company."

* * *

"The best time to wear a striped sweater is all the time~ One with a collar...turtleneck~"

"Do you _have_ to do that?" Felicia threw Cindy a dirty look, which she responded to with a grin. The two of them were sitting side by side on a very expensive sports car - Felicia's personal vehicle, which she'd 'oh so graciously' decided was worth bringing out considering Cindy

"Yep, and you don't get to complain. I spent 3000 bucks for your services." 3000 bucks of _her own money_, mind you. Granted she was fine with spending money, but doing it to do a job they hadn't even equipped her properly for grinded her gears something fierce. Last she checked police officers didn't have to pay for their standard issue guns.

Truth be told that wasn't the only reason. Sure, she was annoyed about the steep price, but really she just needed something to distract herself. Even now over a year later she still had issues with confined spaces. Not enough to start hyperventilating, but enough that she felt an uncomfortable prickling in her skin. Back then the best way she dealt with it by filling the space with noise. It was a common coping mechanism, or so her therapist said.

The fact that it was annoying Felicia was just a welcome bonus.

"If I knew you'd be this grating then I would've upped the price to 5000."

"Good to know. Just for that I'm singing the Krusty Krab pizza song." Felicia groaned and Cindy sang loud and off-key.

According to Felicia's contacts this spot had a large amount of sudden disappearances so they pulled all the files on Gifted in the area and found only a single on within a few miles radius. One Zacharcy Braun, a recent high school graduate. According to his file he could glow in the dark...and that was it. No one considered him dangerous or noteworthy enough to look twice at.

Still, it was the only lead they had so here they were.

Cindy sipped her coffee lazily and looked out through the rain soaked window. They'd been parked here for a couple of hours now. Zach had an apartment on the first floor of the building across the street and, fortunately, had a habit of leaving his window blinds up. Unfortunately he also had a habit of going around shirtless and playing air guitar like he was in front of an audience. Wasn't like there was even much of a show; she was pretty sure she had more muscles than him.

"Is this really what we're going to be doing for the entire night?" Felicia groused.

"You don't like it I can always get my money back. Cash, preferably. Less likely to leave a trail." She held out her hand and grinned smugly.

Felicia swatted it away, "I thought you hero types would be less petty."

"You don't know me very well, then."

"Point." The cat burglar (heh) let out a small breath, "Fine then. A question: what made you take this assignment? The Avengers weren't good enough?"

"It's actually been pretty slow recently." Cindy reclined in her seat, "After we took out H.Y.D.R.A and S.H.I.E.L.D went underground there haven't been any 'Avengers Assemble!' level crap they need us for. The whole Asgardian thing is more for diplomats than us." Though she did come with as an escort at one point. She was not disappointed - Thor's abs were worth more than the price of admission.

"Still, why here? I can't imagine this is much more thrilling."

"Because I can do good here." Cindy shrugged, "I'll whine and moan that it's so annoying, but I can change things even just a bit. Gwen and the others can't be everywhere at once, so why not help the police so they can do things without us having to hold their hand? If that means sitting on a car with a far too expensive partner then that's what it takes."

"...I'll never understand you hero types. Always to eager to throw your time and effort to something you'll never be thanked for."

"It's called thinking about your fellow man, Feli. You should try it sometime."

Her response was cut off by the sudden tingle of Cindy's spin-sense. Cindy's attention snapped back to their unknowing protectee only to see him get swallowed by a sudden circle of glowing black smoke. He was gone.

"Step on it!"

"Where are we going?!"

"Street in front of us!" Her sixth sense was guiding her. Cindy lowered the window and and stuck half her body out, ignoring the rain that pelted her. She raised her gun and took aim. This was more than probable cause.

Just as she hoped, the glowing smoke appeared above them and she saw Zach struggling in mid-air. Just barely she made out a misshapen figure in a black cloak hovering above him.

Cindy fired. The figure turned around and she saw eerily pale skin and blonde hair that contrasted heavily against the surrounding darkness. A woman.

She disappeared just before the bullet hit and took Zach with her, "Turn left!" Cindy screamed. Felicia muttered a curse in French and followed her instructions. The figure appeared again, briefly hovering through the air. She was teleporting, Cindy noted dumbly, though only short bursts at a time. Still, she was slowly but surely gaining speed. She needed to stop this.

"Floor it!" Cindy sreamed again.

"What do you think I'm doing?!" Felicia shouted back, "I go any faster and we'll cause a pile up!"

"Then just do it for a few seconds!"

Another curse came and went. Cindy pulled up her scarf and waited till she got close enough. The figure disappeared again and re-appeared in front of the entrance to an alley, "Now!" Without any other warning, Cindy jumped out of the window and swung towards her. The woman's glowing eyes widened just before Cindy tackled her chest mid-air, making sure to avoid the swirling black smoke that emanated from the cloak.

They fell. Cindy webbed the screaming Zach to the wall just before she and the cloaked woman impacted against the ground. She took the brunt of the fall, though she'd taken worse before, "You're under arrest for attempted kidnapping!" God, did _that_ feel weird to say. The woman struggled and Cindy pinned her arms to the ground and jumped to avoid the smoke again.

"You don't get it-"

"That's what they all say." Cindy ducked the barrage of smoke again as the woman phased through the webbing, "Huh, did _not_ see that coming."

"We're trying to save him!" The woman screamed. There was an odd reverb in her voice.

...Wait, did she say _we_?

Her question was answered when her spin-sense blared loud and proud. Cindy jumped from the wall to avoid the six inch daggers of light, "Woah!" She twisted mid-fall and her spin-sense screamed again.

This time she wasn't able to avoid the last projectile. The light dagger stabbed her right side and Cindy fell to the ground in a heap. It wasn't painful; at least not in the way a normal knife to the side was. It felt more numb than anything and she suddenly found it hard to mode said side. Cindy coughed and looked up to see a dark skinned man helping up the woman in the cloak.

"Dagger, we have to go!" His voice had a different reverb to the woman. Almost melodious in a way.

"But-"

"We tried!"

They disappeared in another flash of glowing smoke. Cindy raised her left hand and tried to web them but it only met air, "Shit...!" She stayed pinned to the ground for almost a minute before Felicia finally made her way to her, "Took you long enough..."

"I was stopped by the police. They didn't appreciate our little joyride." She knelt down and eyed the dagger at her side, "That looks nasty. No blood, though."

"Yeah. Pull it out."

Felicia shrugged, "If that's what you want."

The younger woman grabbed the dagger and pulled it out without much fanfare. Cindy breathed a sigh of relief as feeling returned to her side and she stood. Her spin-sense was quiet; they were long gone by now, "Damn it..." At least Zach was alright. He was muttering to himself and looking up at the sky. First thing they needed to do was get him a shirt.

The dagger dissipated into light and left no trace. So much for clues.

"I'm guessing this isn't the end of it?"

"Ya think?" Cindy rolled her eyes, "Come on. I gotta file a report."

* * *

"Pieces of shit!"

It was nice not having to feel guilty sometimes. Growing up in the Kitchen, she knew it was hard and sometimes you had to do some nasty stuff to survive. A dad who robbed to get money for his son's surgery, kids who sold drugs so they wouldn't starve and, yeah, moms who prostituted themselves to make sure their kids got decent educations. She'd seen it all.

For a while she felt bad putting on a mask. She grew up in those same streets, so what made her think she was better than them? Was it cause she was a freak now? Did that mean she could suddenly start judging? She'd limited her vigilante sprees at times. She was pretty damn sure you couldn't justify rape or being a fucking serial killer.

And then there were these fucks.

Lana punched the closest bastard in a suit right in his jaw. He flew through the air, spun around twice and then impacted against the side of the cargo container. Gabriel came to her with some info - meeting at the docks exchanging 'hot products'. Apparently he got it from the USB drive he managed to yank before that bastard Murdock, ugh, saved him.

She only found out later that the 'hot products' were _people_.

"Watch out, Striker!" Spider-Girl landed behind her and kicked a guy's arm right before he could shotgun her back. She knew her new suit could take a beating - thank you, Melvin Potter - but she still didn't want to test her luck.

"Thanks!" Lana blasted the guy in the face while Anya was suddenly covered in an off-blue carapace. Anya's powers were weird. From what she told her before, she was a 'Hunter'. Ignoring the mystical bullcrap, it basically meant she had magic tattoos that gave her powers...for a while. Sometimes it was a few hours, sometimes it was just a few minutes. Anya told her she also had to choose which to bring with her. Apparently magic ink wasn't cheap and she only had so much skin to paint over.

Anya raises her arm and charges to a group of guys with machine guns. The bullets bounce off the blue shell and she plows through them like a fucking juggernaut, "Nice one!" Lana takes care of the stragglers and Anya shifts out of the carapace to start webbing at the dazed gunmen. It's nice, having someone like Anya to watch her back. She could definitely get used to it.

Soon enough all two dozen wastes of human skin are caught and tied up. Anya called the police while Lana picked up the duffle bag full of money. Hundreds of thousands of dollars, at least. The price for trading a life. She's almost tempted to take some for herself (not that she needs it with her Initiative stipend) or, failing, that, tossing the damn thing in the river so no one could have it.

They'd already let all of the victims out. All of them were foreigners, likely tricked or forced into this shitshow. The bastards were transporting them through cargo containers. That's what they were to them - cargo, something to be sold and pawned off while they counted their money.

She passed by one of the more far off containers before she heard it, "_Ayudame por favor..._" Lana's eyes widened and she rushed to the locked opening of the cargo container. Everyone in the containers had screamed and cried when the shooting started. They didn't notice this one because it'd been so quiet.

Lana smelled it before she opened the container. She wrenched the doors back and almost vomited when the smell hit her in full force. She'd seen dead bodies before, but that was always before the rot set in. Now she saw piles of people all laying on top of one another. No injuries, and most of them still had their eyes open even as their bodies lay still. They must've cooked alive inside.

And then she saw it.

A hand weakly struggling under a large pile. Without even thinking about it, Lana charged through the rotting bodies, jumped and pulled the girl's warm hand up, "I've got you..." She carried her in her arms and rushed out, eyes tearing up from the smell. The girl was young, maybe 14 or 15, wearing a stained tanktop and shorts and her dark hair tied in a loose braid.

The girl whispered, "_Salvame._"

Save me.

"I am..." Anya reached her and her eyes widened when she saw the younger girl's state. Lana's blood boiled. These pieces of shit didn't deserve a four walls and two meals a day. They should've been the one baking in that damn cargo container, "I gotta take her to the hospital. Stay here."

Lana left without hearing the other girl's response. The weak teenager in her arms shifted and whispered one final word before drifting off.

"Aracely..."

* * *

Gwen was in the middle of the third chapter of her science book when she heard a knock on the door.

"MJ, you lost the keys?" The redhead never knocked; even when it led to a few accidents with bath towels and misplaced underwear. Gwen never bothered to tell her off; she never knocked either. Gwen stood up from the couch and padded to the door, "We really need to start keeping track of-"

It wasn't MJ.

Gwen blinked and looked up at Peter's sheepish expression. He looked...better than when he left last night, "Hey, Gwen..." She looked down and found him holding a deluxe size pizza out with both hands like a peace offering, "Could I come in?"

"Uh, sure. No prob."

He set the pizza (her favorite, bacon and cheese) and they sat next to one another without a word or a single slice touched. Webster looked up from her spot on the table briefly before it took her pile of chocolate and slithered to their room to give them some privacy.

"So..."

"There was..."

Silence again. Gwen hated it. Hadn't they been through this before? Stuttering and dancing around each other because they couldn't talk like normal fucking people. Not this time."

"Did you think about it?"

"Yeah..." Peter nodded.

"And...?"

"I'm...I'm staying with you." Her eyes widened and she couldn't say anything. She hadn't misheard him, right? "You're right. I can work with Matt, but more than that...I can't be sure. I'll talk to Page, see if I can work out another deal and-"

That was as far as she got before she leapt across the small space between them and pinned him down with a kiss. She was laughing, she realized idly, laughing and crying in so much relief at his answer. He wasn't going to stay with that murderous bastard and she wouldn't have to stay up at night worrying if he'd get his neck cut while he was sleeping.

The pizza was cold by the time they actually got around to eating it, but neither of them cared. Gwen dug into her slice and leaned against the end of the couch with her feet on Peter's lap as they watched some mindless sitcom on TV. She loved this. Maybe neither of them were normal, but they both deserved a chance to just relax with each other.

The episode ended and the door opened again. MJ stepped in and paused when she saw them, "Uh...hey, Tiger," she said awkwardly, "Didn't think I'd be intruding. I should go-"

"No, it's fine. There's enough pizza here for all three of us," Peter said with a smile.

Gwen was quick to join, "Yeah. The more the merrier!" She gestured to the empty space on Peter's other side. It was obvious MJ was reluctant, but she wasn't going to pass this up. If Glory and Betty couldn't work then Peter was her next choice.

"Uh...alright, sure." MJ sat and Gwen handed her a slice of pizza. Something told her this was gonna be a long night.

* * *

**Pretty slow chapter, at least for Noir and Gwen. Lana and Cindy, meanwhile, are actually getting to their stories because they aren't too busy making googly eyes at other people. I'll focus on Gwen and Noir's plots in the next chapter.**

**Anyway, like I said above Gwen won the vote so now these two lovebirds are rooming together. What about MJ, though? Well, that's where the next question comes in.**

**Questions:**

**1\. Should I have MJ stay in the apartment with Gwen and Peter or have her move out on her own? The former reduces the romance since MJ will be more present but it'll also allow more Peter and MJ interactions; especially given her anti-hero slant. I know a lot of readers liked when Peter helped her out at first before she got taken to Wasp, so that might appeal. If you want more romance then MJ moves out.**

**2\. What do you guys want for the next chapter? I can do something plot based but I'm also thinking of writing another chapter for the true hero this story needs and deserves, Frog-Man. Depends if you guys want to see awesome amazingness or something boring about Noir's continuing war against the Hand remnants.**

**Review Answers:**

**Davidashton2099 - Something tells me Felicia isn't gonna be a fan...**

**Raymond49090rc - Depends on how much his actions were purely due to possession.**

**Brave2000 - Romance or MJ therapy? You decide :P**

**KillerQueen312 - Matt reforms regardless. All that changes is if he spends his free time with Peter.**

**Jormundgardner - Matt's not smug; he's just cheerful! :D**

**SpiderGod766 - The issue with Peter are that: 1. They aren't sure if he really even counts as 65-Peter and 2. _Harry_ was the one who dug up the serum and gave it to SILK. If he hadn't done that the serum would've started and ended with 65-Peter's death.**

**NeverendingZero - He'd help the guy stop villains, but if he goes after heroes Noir would kill him. Tragedy is no excuse to murder innocents. As for Matt, the issue of culpability is a running theme and it's hard to say whether he was under mind control, coercion etc etc.**

**MagicMagician - Thanks :) Hope you keep reviewing. **

**Spidergwen - Doom if they room together? Why?**

**I win gg - Please refrain from spamming the review thread and antagonizing other reviewers.**

**EpicSpicyLemon and Guest - That's what's happening. The difference is that we miss some Peter/Matt scenes since Peter won't be in the apartment anymore.**

**Deathtowaterbottles - Unnatural how? Also, what do you dislike about Gwen period? Constructive criticism is always appreciated :) As for Miles Warren...eh, he seemed fine in this chapter.**

**RedHood001 - Well, Gwen won :P Hope this works for you.**

**Guest 2 - Why doesn't Peter use his science skills? Simple; he's too focused on the street stuff. Wasp offered him a job and he refused because he said he belonged in the grime and underbelly. Matt even said in the last chapter that, despite all it's done to them, both he and Peter consider Hell's Kitchen home.**

**Roxasdualwielder - It's not that effective all the time.**


	4. Nighttime Fun

**First things first, I'd like to thank Nerdman3000 for massively editing the Through the Looking Glass trope page :D It doesn't really matter considering it's already been three years or so since I started the story, but as a troper it makes me happy to see. For anyone interested, you can find a link to it by going to the tvtropes Spider-Man Fanfic Recs page and checking under General Fics. **

**Anyway, on to the votes. I won't bother with exact votes now, but the results came back and Mary Jane staying won out. This means we'll generally get less romance but at least we get more MJ Carnage plot with all three characters. **

**Speaking of, MJ got _way _more focus than I intended; she's gotten more than Gwen as of this chapter. I promise the next chapter will be Gwen-centric so we can finally get some actual Superhero action in this fic rather than Gwen worrying about living with her boyfriend.**

**Another thing that got focus on by reviewers are people wanting Peter to attend ESU and be normal. I'll ask about this in the lower AN cause this was an unexpected turn. **

* * *

MJ had never felt more like a third wheel in her entire life.

The uncomfortable redhead shifted on the left side of the couch and tried to focus on the webflicks show. It was something about a bunch of uncomfortably hot teenagers who looked about 25 solving a murder mystery - typical nightly trash. Normally she would've already been making jokes about how goofy the performances were or playfully complaining about looking for something else to rot their brains with.

Now all her attention was drawn to the other two people on the couch.

She shifted on the couch again and gave the two Spiders a sidewards glance. Gwen took up the right side of the couch and propped herself up one her elbows while Peter took the center, leaving little space for gaps between the three of them. It didn't take her long to notice that Gwen's feet were on his lap and he was giving her...a foot massage?

He didn't even seem to notice that he was doing it. His thumb flicked up across the top of right foot while her left moved and tucked itself under his thigh for warmth. Gwen's expression showed no signs that she noticed it either and she made another comment about the latest joke falling flat. MJ wiggled her own toes in her flip flops and swallowed the lump in her throat.

MJ pointedly looked back at the screen, only to immediately regret it when the next scene showed two of of the actors making out. It was that time on the show again, "Ugh, really? Those two don't even have any chemistry," Gwen complained loudly. It did little to stop the heat on MJ's cheeks.

This was a bad idea. She wasn't a stranger to being the third wheel around couples; sure it sucked, but she was used to it. Band always kept her too busy and after Crimson...well, dating was off the table unless she wanted to risk cutting someone's dick off...unintentionally.

**_'Jealous?'_**

_'Shut up.'_ The right side of her mouth twitched. Thankfully the scene cut away before the actress' breasts were out and the sight of the dead body with surprisingly good make up did little to stimulate her. Ever since she'd made the deal the sight of violence and gore on her hormones had dramatically decreased. Which was good; she didn't fancy looking at torture porn to get off.

_**'Nothing wrong with liking what you like.'**_

_'I said shut it.' _

The worst part of it was that Crimson was right. She was jealous, though a lot of people probably would've been confused as all hell if she told them she wasn't sure of who. She didn't like Gwen's feet on Peter's lap, but was it because she wanted to be the one getting a foot massage or be the one giving it? She bit her lip and tightened her grip on the couch's armrest.

She'd confessed to Gwen over a year ago and they hadn't said anything about it since. She knew Gwen well enough to figure that she wouldn't have told Peter anything about it, so that was one less load of her mind. She didn't know how much of the 30's he had left, but she got the feeling he wouldn't have been as accepting of her comments as Gwen had been.

Gwen tried to talk to her throughout the show, but MJ pushed her off. She wasn't blind. She knew what Gwen was doing - pushing, prodding, trying to get through the cracks now that she had someone else to fall back on. Peter seemed to notice the tense atmosphere in the room but said nothing. She appreciated it; the last thing she needed was two sets of pitying looks.

Eventually the show ended and she made an excuse of being tired to go back to her room. She didn't leave immediately, even if she was really tempted to. Gwen checked in on her sometimes to see if she was still there. The blonde hadn't left any of her little spiderlings to spy on her - not yet, at least. MJ didn't want to give her a reason to either.

She spent the next couple of hours just looking up at the ceiling. Crimson stirred impatiently and she ignored it. They both wanted to go out, but damn if she couldn't let the damn thing stew.

Eventually the clock ticked for 1 am and she was confident enough that Gwen was finally asleep. MJ opened the window and shivered slightly at the cold air that greeted her, "I need a better costume." She pulled up the hood of her sleeveless hoodie and jumped up to the opposite wall to start climbing. She couldn't stick to walls naturally like Gwen or Cindy, but her claws were sharp enough to leave some small holes to grab onto.

**_'Know where to go?' _**

_'Remind me.' _This was the only time the two of them even came close to getting along.

She felt a pull to the south and she followed. The webbing she used wasn't like Gwen's and Cindy's. It was razor thin and blood red, the tips stabbing into the surfaces it hit and disappearing back into her body as soon as she let them go. Still, enough people had caught pictures of her mid-swing to decide that she had some sort of connection to Gwen. Just another Spider, they thought.

Which made it all the more necessary that they never realized she was the one who was running around leaving scumbags to hang on poles.

This next shining example of humanity was Carl Burbank, an esteemed soldier with a chest full of medals who also happened to be a complete piece of human garbage. He'd been stalking a woman with a young son and, lo and behold, beat the kid to death and had his buddies take turns on the woman when she tried to stop him. Judge was in his pocket so all he got was a slap on the wrist and some mandatory psyche meetings to 'deal with his obvious PTSD', which he didn't even bother to go to.

This one almost did slip through the cracks; only reason she knew about it was cause Norah managed to dig the guy up. Apparently Mr. Burbank had a liking for the sauce and he ended up bragging to anyone within earshot - one of which was one of Norah's sources - about how slick he was for getting away with it. A few follow ups with a grieving sister and parents later and they had all the info they needed.

Burbank wasn't alone when she found him. Mary Jane crawled through the slightly ajar window into the dark room. She counted him and six of his buddies in the next room over, which fit the numbers of what Norah's sources said, **_'More meat for the grinder.' _**She could practically see Crimson licking its lips and she knew why. There was no leaving these bastards for the police. They were leaving here either with her dead or them in bodybags. No scouting places out so she could change her mind.

The seven of them were gathered around a small table with cards and chips in front of them with only a couple of bulbs above for light. She could charge in there now, but the last thing she wanted was for one of them to run if she missed. Without Crimson in control she wasn't as adept at using her powers, not like when they fought evil Cindy.

Thankfully the kitchen she'd landed in led to the basement and she knew places like these weren't too different from one another. She stalked down the stairs to the basement and found the breaker box. Damn thing looked barely held together and she almost felt bad slashing through it.

The resulting blackout was instantaneous, "What the fuck!" Someone screamed above followed by a bout of cursing, "Shit, breaker musta tripped again. I'll check it out."

Perfect.

She crouched behind the stairwell and waited. Slow footsteps passed over followed by a flashlight scanning the wall, "Hey, what the fu-"

That was as far as he got before a blade cut through his stomach. He opened his mouth to scream, but nothing came out, "Hey, guys! I need a little help fixing this thing!" 'He' said, barely able to widen his eyes in disbelief. Another little gift Crimson had. At first she'd thought it was morbid, using people like puppets, but then she remembered she ran around looking for people to maim and kill.

Two more sets of footsteps came down. Mary Jane tossed the soon to be dead body on the corner and jumped up to the space right above the doorway.

People never looked up.

There was enough distance between the two that she could grab the the stockier one lagging behind. She 'webbed' his mouth shut and pulled him up. Poor bastard barely had time to struggle before she broke his neck and let him drop to the stairs with a sickening crack.

His much lankier friend turned around just in time for her to jump on top of him. There was no grace or finesse to it like Gwen. She grabbed the tall guy's head and, without so much as a quip or a warning, slammed it down. The back of his skull broke on the first hit, but she kept going at least four more times. By the time she was done her hands and the floor were covered in blood.

"What the fuck?!"

Her eyes widened and her head snapped to the top of the staircase. One of Burbank's buddies. Mary Jane didn't have time to think; she already heard the other two scrambling. She ran up the stairs and cut his throat open as she passed, "Burbanks!" She got to the living room and found it empty with the door already ajar. The bastards were running.

**_'Don't let them escape!'_**

_'I know!' _She rushed out the door and looked around briefly, _'Do you know where they are?'_

**_'Alley across the street!'_** It growled,_ **'This wouldn't have happened if I was in control!'**_

_'Keep dreaming!' _She jumped up the length of the small building and saw them racing down the alley. She couldn't tell which was Burbanks, _'Screw it.'_ She jumped down to the closest one just as they crossed into the empty parking lot. The guy turned around and she got enough illumination from the streetlight above to tell her that it was not, in fact, Burbanks.

She brought a clawed hand through his face right before a gunshot rang out. Mary Jane's head snapped up and she saw Burbanks pointing a pistol at her. At first she thought that he'd shot her, but then they both noticed the pool of rapidly growing blood in his midsection. Burbanks looked down his mouth parted open slightly in shock right before he fell on his back.

"Who...?"

She stood up and turned around to the source of the shot. Her adrenaline immediately washed away and she felt like she'd been doused in ice cold water when she saw Peter lower his handgun, his expression hidden underneath his mask, "T...Tiger..." her voice came out soft, meek. How much of that had he seen? Was Gwen around? Why was he even here?

Peter stepped past her without a word and kicked the gun away to keep Burbanks from grabbing it, "What'd this guy do?" he asked, so softly that she almost didn't hear him between Burbanks' moaning.

"...He murdered a baby, and he and his buddies raped the mother."

Peter shot him through the head. Despite her own plans for him Mary Jane couldn't step herself from wincing when the bullet made impact, "Let's go before the police arrive." He nudged his head and holstered his gun. Mary Jane paused. She'd seen him like this before, but was he really the same guy who gave Gwen a foot massage and laughed along with her lame jokes just a few hours ago?

She followed him without a word till they arrived at the top of a small building. Peter took off his mask first and Mary Jane followed, her sweat slicked hair sticking to her face. She felt naked standing there without her face covered and the blood still on her fingers, "How...How did you know I was here?" she forced herself to say. Anything was better than the silence.

"I heard you leave and followed. It wasn't easy."

"...Is Gwen with you?" She cringed as soon as the words were out.

"No. She was asleep when I left." Mary Jane let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding. Somehow knowing only Peter knew relieved her. Gwen knew what she did, but she'd only ever seen the aftermaths; never the graphic process, "...How long have you been doing this?"

"A few months..." She walked past him and sat at the edge of the building, heels clicking against the wall. Anyone who looked up would just see a woman in a cheap and ill-fitting costume, "I...made a deal with Crimson back when we were fighting Cindy's evil twin."

"Crimson? Well, guess it's a better name than Webster."

_**'I still preferred Carnage.'**_

_'Shut it.' _She pursed her lips and looked ahead as Peter sat next to her a short distance away, "Deal was it stops trying to kill Gwen and innocent people. In exchange I look for people who won't be missed instead." Saying it out loud reminded her of just how grim the entire thing was. They'd kept going so far, but how long could she really keep this up?

**_'You act like humans will stop being terrible. We'll never run out of people to kill for years even if we stick to just this city.'_**

_'That's not the point.' _

**_'Then what is? It's not hard to find targets. We can go to different places if you get tired of New York. I heard that Mexico place is good for it.'_**

"What if I don't want to keep killing people for the rest of my life?" she said aloud in frustration. Peter didn't say anything about her sudden outburst, "I'm not like Gwen. I wan't something besides costumes and risking my life. I want a _life_, I don't want to do this forever..." The fingers on her clenched fists turned to claws, "I'm sick of having to hold myself back from killing people. My first instinct shouldn't be to cut someone's neck open!"

**_'You made the deal.'_**

"Don't remind me..." She looked to Peter with a bitter smile, "You must think I'm crazy, huh?"

"You kill people and you hear voices, so no, not really." The butterflies in her stomach worsened at the wry smile he gave her. There was no judgement in it, "Trust me, Mary, I've seen and done a hell of a lot worse than that." The blunt admission was comforting in a way. Peter could understand her in a way that Gwen and her perfect symbiote couldn't.

"Yeah, I guess you have..." She raised one knee and hugged it close to herself, "So...what happens now?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're gonna tell Gwen about this." She couldn't stop herself from frowning. So far Gwen had been hesitant to talk to her, but as soon as he said something all that would go away. She couldn't tell which was worse - dealing with Crimson on her own or having Gwen hover over her constantly and tell her what she could and couldn't do for her own good.

"...Do you want me to?"

"No." She hugged her leg tighter, "I...I don't want Gwen to look at me like I'm some kind of monster."

"You're not, and she'd never do that."

"No offense, Tiger, but I'm not the one fucking her." She knew it was bullshit as soon as she said it. So what if she and Gwen weren't in bed? Gwen was one of her best friends and the blonde was so self-sacrificing that she helped people despite the years of scorn and ingratitude she got in return. Gwen wouldn't turn against her now, "I just...I want to control this without being a burden again."

That was a load of shit. She just didn't want to disappoint her any more than she already had. Gwen trusted her and what did she do? Ran around like a fucking serial killer styling herself like an angel of vengeance. She didn't feel bad for the people she went after; she just didn't want Gwen to know it.

"What makes you think you're a burden?" Peter pulled out a cigarette and lit it quickly. Mary Jane waved away the smoke with a frown, "You've seen what we've all dealt with last year and God knows both of us tried to help you."

"And I appreciate it. It's just..."

"...Gwen said you wanted to move out." She took a deep breath and nodded, "Well...I can't force you to stay, but I'll tell you this. I know you think that the best way to handle this is by yourself, but...pushing people away won't help. Trust me, I've been down that road before." He smiled bitterly, "Me and Gwen and the rest of your friends...we're here for you."

"Haha, can't believe I'm getting a lecture on the power of friendship from the Dark Spider." He gave her an unamused look and she grinned. Her next words came before she could stop herself, "Hey, you wanna come over for dinner tomorrow at my place?"

"That's...random."

"Better than talking it out in this rooftop." She shrugged, doing her best to appear calm even if her heart was going miles a minute, "I can't talk to Gwen about this, not yet, but...but you get it. You and Gwen...you're practically in different worlds. When you heard about what that bastard did you didn't even hesitate to gun him down. Gwen could never do that." It was something Mary Jane both loved and worried about when it came to her.

"I suppose." He looked down at the streets below briefly, "You mind if I bring Lana along?"

"Uh...no, not at all," she said softly. It was an odd feeling, being both relieved and disappointed all at once, "The more the merrier."

The left side of his mouth twitched but their phones rang before he could say anything - a text for him and a call for her. For a second she dreaded that it'd be Gwen's name on the screen and was torn on what to feel when she saw her dad's instead, "Sorry." She turned away and answered the call while he read the text. She'd almost ignored it, but curiosity won out. He hadn't called her in years; she was honestly surprised he could still afford a phone.

The sounds of strained breathing came from the other end followed by her dad's voice, soft and strained, "Mary Jane? Sweetie?" Her grip on the phone tightened. Her dad only called her dad when he wanted something. 'Don't tell mommy about this, sweetie', 'She doesn't need to know, sweetie'.

'You know what'll happen if you talk, sweetie.'

"What do you want?" Mary Jane didn't bother to mask the distaste in her voice.

"I...I need your help." She raised a brow. He sounded like he was on the verge of tears and she didn't have any sympathy at all, "Please...come here...please..."

"Why should I?"

"Because I'll die if you don't."

The call cut off. Mary Jane looked down at her phone and pursed her lips. Die? Yeah, right. Probably just another cry for money - that was the only thing he ever needed from them.

"...You gonna go to him?" Peter asked softly.

"I guess." She let out a frustrated breath. Better her than her mom and Gayle, at least, "Sorry to cut this short."

"No problem. I gotta go anyway, just got a message from Page."

"I'll see you around, Tiger."

She was barely out of sight of him when Crimson decidd to butt in again, **_'I know what you're doing.'_**

_'What are you on about this time?'_

**_'Your attraction to the boytoy. It's plain as day.' _**She almost missed the next swing at its sudden laugh,**_ 'Oh, I'm not going to stop you, don't worry. Anything we can take from Stacy I'm all for.'_**

'It's...It's not like that.'

**_'Then why were you so disappointed when he invited his hatchling along?' _**Mary Jane didn't reply,**_ 'Don't worry, your secret's safe with me, Red.'_**

"...Shut up."

She made it to her dad's house in record time. Mary Jane dropped in a nearby alley and shifted back to a set of casual clothes. As much as she had a love-hate (mostly hate) relationship with the thing she couldn't deny that it was convenient at times. She'd saved hundreds of dollars in Ooper fares alone.

**_'You're welcome.'_**

Her dad's place was unlocked when she got there. Mary Jane stepped inside and only managed a slightly raised eyebrow at the sight that greeted her: her dad on his knees, his face swollen and bloody, while two men in suits held him down by his arms. A third in a marginally more fancy suit was sitting close by on the ratty table and his face lit up when he saw her.

"Well, well. Ol' Philly here wasn't lyin'!" Suit guy exclaimed. The southern drawl was immediately distinct to her, "Pretty little thing, ain't ya?"

"What do you want?" Mary Jane crossed her arms. To think just a scant year ago she would've been scared of people like this and running to Gwen for help. Now she he to suppress the urge to chuck the grinning bastard out the window.

"Mary Jane, sweetie-"

"Not talking to you." She didn't so much as turn in his direction, "What do you want? You one of his bookies?"

"In a manner of speakin'." He leaned back on the chair, "See, ol' Philly cheese steak here 'borrowed' some money that he was very quick to assure he was gonna pay back. And for a while he was due on his money like a good little boy, but then tonight we found him inches deep in some sweet little thing 'stead of making his usual payment. Funny that."

"If you know anything about 'Philly cheese steak' you wouldn't have given him a single cent." Mary Jane shrugged.

"Yeah, we're figurin' that now." For a second she almost felt sympathetic to the slimeball. Just another person Philipp Watson screwed over, "See, now this is where you come in." He leaned forward and didn't even try to hide his leer. Mary Jane clenched her fists behind her back to keep them from seeing the clawed tips, "Told us about his pretty little daughter who was doing well for herself."

"Oh really?" This time she did look at him. He actually did have the decency to look guilty at that, though she was way past the point of caring, "And would him calling me over here lead to some kind of scenario where you and your boys try to find other ways that I can pay you back?"

"Whooo-weee, you got big brass ones on ya, girlie." He rubbed his dark mustache and grinned, "I apologize if my checkin' you out gave you the wrong idea, but we are not that kind of organization. We take cash and anything valuable we can sell for said cash. See, boss don't like us wettin' the whistle cause you'd be surprised how many are willin' to go for it. A good few minutes ain't worth it, ya see. We'd lose profits."

"So what do you want?"

"We want you to make a payment for Philly cheese steak here. Cash, check, don't matter."

"Ha..." Mary Jane looked down and smiled wryly. Here her dad was again, drugging her into his problems. She could just walk away. They'd kill him, but that was no skin off her nose. Her mom would feel bad about it for a bit but then she'd remember how much of a waste of skin he was and the years of hell they had under him. It would've taken no effort at all.

The other option, of course, was to kill them. They were loan sharks so chances were they weren't exactly squeaky clean. While she didn't have much sympathy for people who ran into these guys for money, they were criminals all the same.

But then her dad would find out she had powers and then he'd blab to anyone who could hear to try and turn it into his favor and despite everything she didn't want to kill him. She was suddenly reminded of that moral dilemma in her philosophy class about the train. People were all too willing to let one person over three get run over without doing anything but not when you had to pull the lever to switch the tracks.

Besides, she didn't want to kill anyone for him. He didn't deserve that much.

"...I don't have any money now." Suit guy raised a brow, "But I can get some. I'm a model."

"A model?" He looked her up and down again, "Well, you got the looks for it. When can we be expectin' our money then?"

"Next week. I've got a new gig, cash up front." That one wasn't a lie, at least. It was one reason she'd been tempted by the offer. Even the upfront offer was worth months of waiting the counter at the theater, "Here, look at this if you don't believe me." She tossed him the card.

He looked down at the card and whistled, "Kingsley? My daughter loves this guy." He tossed the card into the ground and stood, "Fine then, girlie. Cash next week with interest."

"Fine."

He called his goons over and they dropped her dad on the ground before leaving. Mary Jane looked down at her whimpering 'father' and pursed her lips. She had no idea why she was helping him. He made his bed and now he could lie in it...right?

_**'Feeling guilty?'**_

_'For what? That was your fault.'_ She picked him up and set him on the bed none too gently, ignoring his groans. Despite her words she couldn't deny the bubbling feeling in her gut. She nearly killed him over a year ago and hadn't even checked in at all afterwards. Sure he didn't deserve it, but she had to be better than that.

_'She says, after killing six people less than an hour ago and watched him get mugged just a week ago...' _

Mary Jane sighed and walked out the door without looking back. She needed to clear her head...

* * *

A museum. This was new.

Peter jumped through the window without touching any of the panes and landed on the on the room's beams. Page told him to come here because of a break in. She wouldn't have bothered if it was just a bunch of idiots trying to pawn of a thousand year old jar, "Hmm..." He closed his eyes and focused. He saw the figures through the walls. Too many to be museum staff, and he was pretty sure security guards weren't supposed to be carrying swords around.

Here they go again.

Peter clicked twice on Gwen's webshooter and shot towards the grate to the next room. Thankfully the museum was poorly lit and no one noticed him walking on the beams. He looked down at the assembled crowd and sighed at the suits and oni masks they wore. Hand goons, probably belonged to Murakami or Gao going by the suits they wore. Bakuto tended to go for cultists and Sowande preferred mercenaries.

"Spread out and find the scroll." The one in front, presumably the leader, said. The goons split off into their own groups while the leader went to the backroom. He counted at least a dozen of them. Best if he didn't make any noise.

He waited till only two remained in the backroom before he grabbed the closest one and and tugged him up to the ceiling. He didn't have time to scream before he was covered in a blanket of paralytic webbing. That new part of his gift wasn't too useful in most situations, but at least it kept people from trying to scream.

Maybe that was why Gwen wanted him to try it...he shook his head. Not the time or place.

The second one on patrol noticed her partner's absence and looked around. Peter jumped down on top of her and punched her in the face hard, breaking through the mask to expose the face underneath. Japanese by the looks of her with nondescript features. Murakami's then - Gao tended to focus on the more foreign members so they could blend in to different surroundings.

He zipped back up to the rafters and made his way to the East Hall. The remaining 10 had split off in groups of 5 and he knew from experience that these guys were suicidal in an open fight. It didn't matter if their patron was gone - Murakami trained his fighters to treat every fight like it was their last. At least Sowande's troops had the decency to cut and run when they figured it wasn't worth it.

Two of them were guarding the entrance. Peter tossed a mine into the wall and it began to sound out mimicked footsteps, "Let's check it out." The burly man told his shorter compatriot. His partner nodded and followed behind him...just in time for the mine to grab him and pull him into the wall. Peter jumped onto his stunned partner and webbed him to the floor before punching the struggling goon pinned to the wall.

The remaining three in the group we bunched up together and destroying the stands. Peter pursed his lips and looked around till he found the light switch on a nearby wall. Amazing how the smallest thing could be used.

He turned it off.

Peter rushed towards them and disabled them as quickly as he could. One of them managed to scream something out to alert their buddies before Peter knocked her out - perfect. Peter disappeared in a wisp of smoke (just in case) and pulled out a flashbang. Murakami also trained his goons to go in groups. Safety in numbers; a lesson he didn't take himself. Better if he got them all in one go.

The remaining five were barely in the room before he tossed the flashbang right at the center. The sudden brightness made them stumble back and Peter jumped down. He made sure to either web them down or snap an arm or a leg; it was the only way to be sure they wouldn't get back up again outside of just putting a bullet through their skull.

Peter snapped the last goon's arm and punched him in the head, "Last one..." Only the leader was left. He sighed and made his way back to the entrance of the backroom. He said they were looking for a scroll, right? He could only assume that meant another ritual of some kind. He shook his head. What happened to the days when he just had to deal with criminals trying to make a buck.

The leader wasn't in the backroom. Peter's eyes narrowed and he stepped inside, looking around warily. The backdoor led to some kind of storage room. The dim flourescent lighting and shelves full of crates contrasted heavily, "Hm..." He walked towards the camera hanging on the wall and picked it up. This didn't look like it belonged here-

Spider-sense.

Footsteps from behind. Peter made no show of noticing and continued to hold the camera with one hand while the other inched towards the gun on his jacket holster. A shot to the knee would keep him down.

He turned around and raised his gun just when something smacked the guy from behind hard. The guy fell on his face and the figure from behind grinned, "Hey, Ben."

Norah.

"Summers." He webbed the leader down and handed her the camera. She looked different. Her hair was longer and pulled into a ponytail and he made out a thin, faded scar on her right cheek close to her eye. She wore a brown leather jacket, a peach scarf, dark jeans and boots. It didn't draw attention, which was a rarity for her.

"Nice to see you too." She rolled her eyes playfully and punched his shoulder, "We should go."

"What are you doing here?"

"Who do you think told Karen about the break-in?" She hooked the camera around her neck again and checked the contents, "The Kingpin Empire trial's next week and people are trying to offload as much as they can. This was Fisk's otaku stas so Robbie told me to check it out, especially since the owner was 'close friends' with our dearly departed big Willie."

"Owner? Where is she then?"

"Those creeps were interrogating her about some kind of scroll. She wasn't much help, so they gagged her and stuffed her in a closet. Pretty nice of them, actually." Hardly. Murakami just didn't like leaving dead bodies; that got the police antsy, "Did some sneaking around and..."

"...What did you do?"

She winked and, with the most audacious grin on her face, pulled out a small scroll from her pocket, "Shadowed one of the goons who found this, so I knocked him out and took it. Figured it'd be better if these guys didn't get their hands on it."

"Nice job." He wasn't going to comment on it technically being theft. She probably wouldn't have cared, "We need to get out of here then. Murakami's like a bloodhound when it comes to what he wants."

"Then I guess it's a good thing that the owner cut the cameras before I even got here. Guess she didn't want anyone to see what she was smuggling in these things." She crossed her arms, "We should probably tell the cops that too. Robbie sent me here cause he was worried Fisk's old buddies were using the statues to smuggle drugs into the city."

"I'm on it." He pulled out his phone and tapped the third person on the speed dial. It only rang twice before she answer, "Hey, Cin?"

"Pete? I'm kinda busy, sorry-"

"There's been a break in at the museum by some of my old ninja friends." Norah began to pick the door leading to the back alley, "They were looking for something here, but it's not just that. Fisk's old contacts might've been using the art pieces here to smuggle things into the city. You're in good with the cops now, think you can get them here to check?"

"Well, since you asked so nicely." She sighed, "Alright, but please don't make this a thing. I'm not Commisioner Gordon."

"Dunno what that means." He cut the call and followed Norah out into the alley, "Where to now."

"My place."

Norah's new apartment was small and nondescript, which she attributed to the cheap pricing and the lack of questions asked by the landlord, "Benjamin, I'm home!" she said as soon as she was inside. Immediately Dog zipped out of the adjacent bedroom and scratched her heels with the telltale smile on his face. Norah took care of the little guy ever since he left the city and at this point he was more her dog than his. He didn't mind; Dog seemed to pick his owners himself.

Dog noticed his presence and barked happily, focusing all his attention on him. Norah laughed and shucked off her jacket, exposing the gray button up shirt underneath, "Looks like he missed you." She set the scroll down on the table and picked up her laptop as she sat on the couch, "Speaking of, you owe me a year of child support, mister! Dog food ain't cheap!"

"And neither's the rest of that stuff." He picked up the pug and stared at the assorted toys, bowls and even a small bed on the corner of the bedroom, "And wait, did you just call him Benjamin?"

"Yep. Just cause you're too lazy to name our kid doesn't mean I am." He was just gonna ignore that. A year later and her jokes never got any funnier, "Anyway, I didn't say it before, but it's nice to see you again. Somehow I knew we'd meet up again like this."

"That makes two of us." He sat beside her on the couch with Dog between them, "Looks like you picked up some souvenirs." He gestured to her cheek.

"What, this? Yeah, I was dealing with some Darkweb hackers who ran a red room. They got me a bit before I turned the tables." She scratched at the scar somewhat self-consciously, "You wanna know the worse part? Those guys weren't even the worst I had to deal with. Remind me to tell you about a creep by the name of Dollmaker when I get a few drinks in." She shuddered, "Thank God I had Frank's gun on me."

"Dollmaker? I heard rumors about that guy..."

"Chances are they're all true." She stood and grabbed two cans of beer on the wall and tossed one to him, "But enough about me. You recognize that scroll?"

"Hm..." He unfurled it and scanned through the lettering. He'd picked up on languages in his year of traveling. Not enough to be mistaken for a natural, but enough to converse pretty fluently. He scanned through the faded letters and the picture, "My fuedal Japanese is rusty, but it mostly translates to 'The broken pieces can be repaired to something new'. I think."

"What's that mean?"

"Who knows." He rolled the scroll up again, "The Hand put too much stock into legends and fairy tales.

"Do you know what they're doing?"

"Trying to keep breathing." He opened the beer and drank down a heavy gulp, "They've been alive for centuries, Summers. Alive and powerful. At this point they don't have a goal outside of staying alive and keeping the power they spent years stealing and killing for." His grip on the can tightened, "They'll dress it up, but at the end of the day they're all cowards scared of what's waiting for them."

"Good to see your sense of drama hasn't changed." Norah rolled her eyes playfully, "Anyway, I'm gonna do some research on this and another case. Make yourself at home."

"Sure..." He looked down at the can and said his next words without facing her, "You know about Mary's thing, right?"

Her fingers stopped typing briefly before she continued without missing a beat, "Sure," she said casually.

"...You're helping her?"

"Sure."

"Should I even ask why?"

"Because I don't know what else to do." She was still typing like nothing was wrong, "I tried to help her. The two of us spent months just...trying to rein her in. It didn't help. She made a deal with that monster and she couldn't just ignore that. That and...maybe MJ isn't as against it as she says."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't mean that she likes killing people or anything. I mean that...the power she gets, the fact that she's making sure scumbags don't get away with their crimes and that they can't hurt anyone else...I think it makes her happy. There's nothing else I can do at this point, Ben. I'm sorry."

"Wasn't looking for an apology." He couldn't judge. How long had he indulged Bullseye? "Just be careful, both of you."

"Pfft, who do you think you're talking to?" Her smile wasn't as confident as she might have liked, "We'll be fine. Besides, now that you're back in town things can only get better. Did you hear Hitlerstache's latest broadcast? I think he got a heart attack cause he heard you were back in town."

"That's a tragedy," he snarked, "Anyway, I should probably go. I'll see you around."

"Count on it."

He took the scroll from the table and stuffed it into his jacket. Page would want to see it.

* * *

**Boring plot chapter done. Sadly almost no one voted for the epicness of Frog-Man. It's alright, I know greatness has to be prepared for rather than sprung on without warning. We'll see when I can put him in again.**

**Anyway, at this point I think it's fair to say that Mary Jane counts as the fifth protagonist for V2, even if she's very closely tied to Gwen. She even has her own planned arch-enemy - Calvin Zabo/Mr. Hyde. Creator of the Hyde formula which is what makes up half of the Carnage symbiote in this fic.**

**Questions:**

**1\. MJ's segments ended up far darker than I originally intended. She was going to be a regular Ideal Hero at first, but then I remembered, oh yeah, _Carnage Symbiote. _Still, are you guys fine with her current tone or would you prefer her shifting to a more idealistic scenario? **

**2\. Speaking of MJ, I've also gotten reviewers asking for a Peter/Gwen/MJ threesome. I mean...seriously? Now that Noir/Gwen is a thing do you guys really want me to up-end the relationship dynamics to squeeze in MJ as a third branch? It seems kinda needless, doesn't it?**

**3\. Would you guys want me to focus on Peter attending ESU and doing normal life stuff? When I had Gwen suggest it I meant for it to come off as a joke but it seems to have gained traction. I never really intended for Noir to be normal in V2, but it seems like a really popular idea.**

**Review Answers:**

**Bagration - Something tells me Noir wouldn't survive symbiote sex. Also, Peter will NEVER stop smoking.**

**Eragen - Overseas is unlikely. I can probably do a beach trip if we need some kind of break chapter, though, and other heroes can visit New York if needed.**

**NeverendingZero - I'm fine with reviews since I tend to update relatively quickly. As for innocence, it's relative. A conman never kills while a soldier does, but I'd consider the latter more innocent. Noir wouldn't shoot MJ; he trusts her not to go nuts. As for your other questions - Peter's identity is never going to get a concrete answer so it's ambigious if he's responsible. As for Glory and Betty, not really. Noir doesn't like them, especially Glory.**

**Cha0s4ever - Shame, Matt would've made a great roommate :(**

**Brave2000 - Gwen wouldn't let ANYONE she loves near Matt, and that includes MJ. MJ wouldn't be for it either.**

**Davidashton2099 - Considering Noir's backstory I already did do Clone Saga.**

**Anti-W.T.F - No hook ups. Peter and Gwen are, for better or worse, the couple for this volume. That and neither Norah or Cindy are interested in Noir romantically, as they've made clear last volume. **

**There are new villains, but not the Sinister Six since they're jokes. As for Original Noir? He's back home doing his own thing. It doesn't matter in the context of this story since he accomplished his goal and got home, so he's done. Also no, not planning to include Web Warriors so far. Don't want this to get too bloated again.**

**Noisy-Cricket - Uh...Fisk is dead. Matt and Peter talk about how the former had him assassinated last volume.**

**Leaptallfics - Just cause some characters are bi/gay doesn't mean they're not monogamous. Gwen made it clear in the last volume that she prefers one-on-one relationships and doesn't even consider the idea of a threesome.**

**Jk41kiwi - It's not down, it just got renamed slightly. Check the instrucions above.**

**Guest C23 - She's getting her own costume. Check 'Scarlet MJ' over on deviantart to see what it looks like.**

**DreameroftheDay - The leads are definitely better all around compared to how they were in V1. This does mean they don't struggle as much, however, which leads to less drama. **


	5. A Day in the Life

**As promised, a chapter that focuses on Gwen doing actual hero stuff. Granted the end of it gets into mushy crap again, but that's what people want given the cavalcade of Gwen votes. I'll downplay it in future chapters, mostly cause writing it made me feel pretty cringy even if I can justify why they'd act like that in-universe. **

**After this I'll probably make the Frog-Man chapter. I think I've given people enough chances to gird their loins and prepare for his utter greatness. The true hero is coming, ladies and gents! I'll also make a Mayday/Spider-Girl omake to thank Nerdman3000 for expanding the tvtropes page.**

**Focusing on MJ, one of the issues a couple of people had was the one year timeskip and yet MJ's character seems to have been frozen from when V1 ended. I'll try to remedy and explain this a bit in the next chapters. Anyway, new cover focusing on Scarlet MJ :)**

**On a side note, a lot of the people who were all for the threesome seemed _really _invested in adding the symbiotes into the mix...and at least a couple didn't even want Gwen and MJ in, just Noir and the symbiotes. Guys, I know Lana mentioned reading Punisher/Noir doujins but that doesn't mean he's a super bottom. That and I doubt he's into Carnage considering past experiences.**

* * *

Gwen woke up alone again.

"God damn it, Peter..." Gwen groaned softly and sat up, rubbing her eyes as she did. She'd fallen asleep next to him and now she was all alone; even Webster was sleeping on a pile of chocolate next to the bed. Was it too much to ask not to feel like she was at the end of a bad one night stand? "MJ's probably gone too..." Off doing her...thing. That red bastard should've died with Kasady.

She swung her legs over the edge and stood on her bare feet with a small yawn. Today was one of her rare free days, which meant being free to go on patrol without having to worry about some kind of homework or project due in a couple of days. She had to admit, getting into college hadn't been easy. Days of nothing but patrol or Avengers work had quickly tapered off into meticulously planned schedules and trying to juggle both school and hero work, at times to mixed success.

She technically didn't need to go. Being an Avenger didn't have any degree requirements and money was hardly tight, all things considered. Still, she couldn't deny that a part of her wanted this: to be normal, to go through college like her dad wanted even if she was pretty sure being an Avengers was for life thing. Besides, it couldn't _hurt _to get a better idea on what made criminals tick, even if she had some doubts on the accuracy of those Supervill Analysis courses. Last she checked Shocker's quilt fetish wasn't because he felt a special connection to his grandmother.

Gwen poured her cereal (chocolate, of course) and idly watched the news. Nothing special: a few political debates (skip), a new Supervill team that got stopped by the Initiative (thank you, Cap) and a group of Skrull sympathizers who screeched about how the green aliens who tried to flatten the city with a Godzilla monster were just misunderstood (chipped away at her faith in humanity).

Things had been uneventful for the past few weeks. Ever since they stopped H.Y.D.R.A and the Initiative really took off there'd been a noticeable lack of of city destroying, world ending threats that needed their attention; even her usual patrol beats were covered by Initiative recruits. Don't get her wrong, she's glad for that, but it still took some getting used to the idea that the city wouldn't suddenly be blown up just because she decided to stay in and pig out on some pop tarts.

Webster crawled out of the room and shut the door behind her, "Morning." The blob waved hi before it opened the fridge and pulled out its daily assortment of cookies, chocolate syrup and ice cream. At this point Gwen was pretty sure Webster didn't need all of that and she was just spoiled for sweets. Last she checked ice cream and tater tots didn't have Phenethylamine or whatever it was called.

Webster took a seat opposite her on the table and ate, **"Gwen, we're running low on ice cream."**

"_Again_? I just bought a tub like a couple of days ago." Webster 'shrugged' and continued to eat without pause, "...I think we need to put you on a diet. You've been pigging out _way _more than usual lately."

**"You weren't complaining when I helped you lift that building. And that train. And that crashing jumbo jet-"**

"Alright, geez, I'm nothing without you and you complete me! You don't have to rub it in..." She coulda sworn the little blob smiled at that. Ever since they'd re-bonded the little gal seemed to pick up on her (awesome) sense of humor, "Still, you really do need to pace yourself. The corner store's selling out more than we can buy at this point." That and the cashier was wondering how she never gained weight despite buying up practically their entire sweets aisle.

**"Then let's** goT** on patrol to 'burn the fat'."**

"...You just want an excuse to pass by the new ice cream place, don't you?"

**"Superheroes get half off according to the latest promotion."**

She laughed under her breath and, after finishing her meal, rejoined with Webster again. Going on patrol now actually did sound good. Tomorrow she'd probably have to study for Prof Warren's test, so a little Spider-Woman time would do her some good.

There wasn't much to do. She passed by a few Initiative hopefuls who greeted her happily (she returned the favor) and swung by the the ice cream place at about noon. Only two muggings and one attempted kidnapping, so it was a pretty slow day all around.

She sat at the edge of a building and dug into the ice cream. Sometimes she found it hard to believe that it'd only been a year since it all ended, and even less than that when the Initiative first started out. Despite her doubts she really couldn't deny that Cap was right in encouraging Heroes. She really didn't want to think what would've happened with H.Y.D.R.A or those Skrulls without the Avengers around.

A buzzing from her phone drew her attention. Gwen tapped the screen and smiled when she saw the message from her mom. She'd gone to France with Ben and May shortly after Peter left and from what she heard she was doing well with her own flower shop. A fresh start just like she wanted. Gwen missed her, of course, but they could always visit one another. It wasn't a goodbye.

Speaking of moms...

She tapped the screen to call Jessica, "Hey, Jess."

"Hey. Bored?"

"You know me so well." She finished off the last of the ice cream and ignored Webster's plea for seconds. She really needed to put her on a diet, "What happened to the Valdez thing? Still need help?"

"Nah, I already got the pics. Now I just gotta tell the grieving wife her limpdick hubby was putting it up his boyfriends' asses." Gwen sighed sympathetically. It was bad enough to find out your husband was cheating, but finding out he was doing it with other men? That'd leave a mark for a while, "After that I got the pizza case. You can come with if you want, but it's just gonna be more stalking and waiting."

The glamorous life of the private investigator wasn't as exciting as the tv shows made it out to be. Most of the time it was a lot of following around cheating spouses and insurance fraudsters and taking pictures at just the right moment. After that it was telling the unlucky husbands and wives that their suspicions were right or getting a shylock fired for wasting company benefits. The latter was a hell of a lot easier than the former.

Gwen chatted with Jessica for a few more minutes before she heard the distant booms, "Gotta go, Jess." She cut the call and swung to the source of the sound. The blonde Spider landed on a nearby rooftop and groaned when she saw the five figures rushing down the street.

The Sinister Six; though she heard rumors that they were relabeling into the Fearsome Five. She recognized almost of them: Shocker, Boomerang, Overdrive and Beetle made up the first for while the last one was someone new. A long haired brunette woman wearing leather that left way too much of her chest exposed. There was a thin line between confidence and exhibitionism.

_'Aren't these guys supposed to be in jail?' _The amount of breakouts had been drastically reduced ever since Wasp introduced the idea of using Dyne particles to deter prison breaks (not much you could do at an inch tall) and save resources. There were complaints about possible abuse, of course, so right now it was only on a trial basis with the Raft as the testing ground. Easy enough to see why - Supervillains had a much higher chance of busting out and causing trouble and Supermax prisoners in general were dangerous enough that people were easier to convince that security needed to be measured up.

It looked like a typical heist. Boomerang and Beetle were carrying sacks filled with either cash or diamonds while Overdrive bolted for the closest car. Meanwhile Shocker and Leather Lady were fighting off the cops, the former with his handblasts and the latter by...making them naked?

Gwen almost looked away when the closest cop was stripped down to his birthday suit. The poor guy screamed and immediately rushed to cover his privates while Leather Lady laughed her ass off. Yup, definitely an exhibitionist.

She swung down and got Overdrive first. The helmeted Supervillain had barely started to transform the car before she yanked him out of the driver's seat and webbed him to the wall, "Stay there for just a second!"

"Woah, Spider-Woman! This is so awesome!" Yep, definitely a Superhero fanboy. It was kinda creepy, actually, "Could I get a pic later?"

"Seriously?" Gwen rolled her eyes.

"Oh, hell no! Not you again!" Beetle cried.

"Yep! Long time no see, Beetle!" Gwen dodged her laser blast and webbed both her gauntlets together. The armored woman tried to charge at her anyway and Gwen jumped over her, kicked her to the wall next to Overdrive and covered her with a metric ton of webbing.

"God damn it, not again!" She screamed.

The remaining three were running away without even looking back while the cops regrouped. Gwen swung over them and yanked the sack of loot from Boomerang's arms, "City full of goody two shoes and we gotta run into you!" Boomerang shouted and tossed both 'rangs at her.

Gwen grabbed them mid-flight and tossed them back, "Yep, aren't you the lucky ones!" He was hit twice, one in the gut and the other in right in his face. Boomerang crumpled to the ground with a pitiable groan and Gwen stuck him to the ground almost as an afterthought.

Two left.

Leather Lady stopped while Shocker kept running, "Let's see how you like this." Leather Lady actually _floated _a few feet off the ground. Gwen landed on a nearby lamppost and debated whether to kick her out of the air now before she suddenly pointed both hands at Gwen, "Take this!"

"..."

"..."

They stared at each other in awkward silence. Gwen looked down at the slightly shaking surface of her wrist and turned back to her, "Um...is something supposed to happen here?"

"You're supposed to be stripped down to nothing." Leather Lady's face screwed up in concentration. Again, nothing more than a slight tingle from her wrists, "...That's not cloth, is it?"

**'Nope.'**

"So...I'm gonna punch you now, alright?"

"...Sure."

Gwen left her tied up at the same lamppost and swung after the last remaining member. She almost felt sorry now. The loot was long gone and none of the police got hurt apart from the poor guy who lost even his tighty whities.

It didn't help much that he looked honest to God _scared _of her.

"Hermann, buddy, where ya going!?"

"Just stay the hell away from me!" He shot down at the ground and propelled himself up. He landed on a roof and kept boosting like a chipmunk on a sugar rush, "Just leave me the hell alone!"

He was _really_ scared of her.

_'That's your fault, by the way.'_

**'Our symbiosis wasn't proper back then. You didn't even really trust me.' **Webster 'huffed'.

_'Yeah, well, now Shocker thinks we're gonna eat him.'_

**'That's dumb. He wouldn't taste very good. Not enough chocolate.'**

_'...It worries me that that's the first thing that comes to mind for you.'_

The chase didn't last much longer. As soon as Shocker landed on a high enough rooftop she webbed one of his gauntlets and yanked it out of his arms. He barely had time to raise his second one when she did the same and webbed them both to the surface of the roof under a thick blanket of webbing. No way he was getting those now.

Gwen stuck him to the wall with his feet hanging inches from the ground. He struggled against the webbing desperately, "Help! Anyone, help!" Was he really screaming for help? The fuck? Alright, she'd be the first to admit her last episode wasn't _ideal_, but what the hell? You'd think he'd figure out that she wasn't going to go apeshit after she helped save the city from aliens.

"Alright, Hermann, we need to talk." She leaned against the wall on her right shoulder with her arms crossed a fair distance from him. Any closer and he might've pissed himself and neither of them wanted that.

"Wh-What about?"

"Your little prison break. See, I know for a fact that you and the rest of your little group were in the Raft and that right now you shouldn't be more than six inches." It seemed sort of unfair at first, but considering they'd broken out about half a dozen times already she was less sympathetic than she probably should've been, "So, how'd you get out? Dyne particles to reverse the shrinking don't come cheap."

"I-I-I ain't telling you anything!" That might have been more convincing if she didn't see his teeth chattering through his mask, "I ain't a snitch, Spider-Woman! Trust's the only thing we got left in this business!"

"Hermann, seriously, I'm asking nicely here-"

"Go to hell!"

Gwen breathed in through her nostrils as a wave of irritation washed through her. Alright, if that was how he wanted to play, "Alright, fine, I was hungry anyway."

It took a second for the words to register and as soon as they did he looked like he was gonna have a panic attack then and there, "Y-You stay away from-"

"Honestly, you know how hard it was to hold back a year ago? Only reason I didn't was cause you were so helpful." She raised her right hand to her face and made a show of casually checking her nails while Shocker's struggling worsened. She felt kinda guilty, but she wasn't really gonna touch the guy. Cap once told her that making the interrogatee think about what _could_ happen to them was worse than what you actually _would_ do to them.

"I...I can't tell you, I'll be-"

"Man, it's been a while since I got a good snack. I mean, people are always taking pics so I could never sneak off a bite, but now? Well, look around you, buddy, there's no one here." She made a wide gesture to the deserted rooftop. Shocker's breathing worsened when she put a hand on her chin and leaned in closer to size him up, "Hmm, bit on the chewy side by the looks of you, but I've had worse. Say, you're not too attached to that hand, are you? I'm craving me some fingers-"

"Alright, alright, alright! I'll talk!" Shocker was full on hyperventilating now. She bit down her apology and stepped back, "Look, it's the same guy who busted us out before."

"You mean Hobgoblin." She'd tried to find leads on him over the past year and came up with zilch. It was always the same story - dead drops, friends of friends and agents who were nothing more than hired guns. Nothing to go on.

"Y-Yeah. See, he's makin' some moves. I heard through the grapevine that he's making friends with some out of towner called Scorpion."

"Yeah, I know the guy." Cindy'd want to know he was back in town. At least the deal was null and void now, "What's he got to do with Dyne particles?"

"You didn't hear it from me, but apparently he has an in at Dyne industries. Someone's smugglin' him some of those reverser growth particle things and he's making bank on it." Right...she needed to tell Wasp about that too. Last thing she wanted was a Godzilla sized White Rabbit or Bodega Bandit, "This job was supposed to pay back the cost of what it took to set us free."

"Well, at least you'll get free room and board again, Hermann. Heard those are going at a premium now." He grunted in annoyance, seemingly forgetting his previous fear. Good, she was actually feeling pretty bad about that, "I'll tell em to lighten up on you on your next trial for being such a good little boy."

"Look, would you just leave me alone? You being so close is giving me the heebie jeebies."

"Sure. And make sure to keep those hands clean from now on or I might be tempted to get a little snack next time we do this."

Shocker shuddered and she didn't get a chance to say she was just kidding before she heard more screams in the distance. That didn't sound good, "Wait here for the cops, Hermy. They usually pick up in an hour." Waving goodbye (and ignoring his calls to at least unbind his legs), she swung off into the source of the light while messaging both Cindy and Wasp with her free hand. Sooner they patched those holes the better.

The sight that greeted her made her pause. Crowds of screaming people and giant Lizards chasing after them. Now the kind of Lizards she was used to, though. These ones were gray in color and far smaller, resembling a regular human in height and stature if not for the dull scales and their oversized mouths. Most of them even still had hair and the remains of what looked like patient gowns.

_'Webster?'_

**'They aren't the same.' **

She was both relieved and frustrated to hear that. On the one hand it meant the Lizard serum wasn't being spread around again, on the other it meant she couldn't just cure these people like she did the others a year ago.

Gwen jumped into the fray. She webbed a nearby Lizard's jaw shut and snagged another's back when it tried to jump for a screaming woman, "Hey, none of that!" She landed, spun him around briefly then tossed him into the clustered group of Lizards, "Run!" She screamed at some of the still stunned crowd. The yell seemed to finally jolt them out of their shock and they continued their screaming retreat.

She rushed to the biggest cluster. Gwen made sure to hold her punches back to just what was needed. For all she knew these people were just victims like the poor people S.I.L.K kidnapped so it wouldn't do to hurt them needlessly.

"Come on, you guys, it's a Spider-Woman buffet!"

One of them managed to chomp on her shoulder. It didn't hurt, and she could've sworn the gray reptile's eyes widened when it suddenly found its mouth practically wired shut with a sticky black substance, _'Thank you, Webster.'_ Her shoulder immediately healed itself as another Lizard tried to chomp on her arm. It had about as much luck as its friend did.

A few of the Lizards seemed to notice that she wasn't going down and tried to slip past her to the fleeing crowd. Gwen lashed her left arm out and made a makeshift clothesline out of a tentacle just before they passed. Most of them were hit in the face and fell back from the impact while a couple managed to duck under just in time to avoid faceplanting into the asphalt.

She twisted and aimed at their backs with her free hand before the bright light almost blinded her. Gwen shut her eyes and turned away automatically, **'Careful, Gwen.' **Her body moved on its own and she flipped sideways just before one of the Lizards chomped down where her head was. Probably wouldn't have hurt her, but she didn't want slobber on her mask.

She landed on the ground and they kicked the closest Lizard's jaw before she turned back to the two that slipped past her, "...Huh." The two Lizards were knocked out and the figure standing above them was...hard to describe. He looked like he stepped straight out of a comic book: a dark green bodysuit that covered everything from the neck down with long blonde hair that reached almost all the way down to his waist. There were bright orbs of light all around him and his eyes were covered in a bright yellow glow that added an almost ethereal feel to him.

"Spider-Woman, watch out!" He flew past her and punched a charging Lizard right in the jaw.

"Thanks!" Snapping out of her short-lived shock, she focused her attention back to the remaining Lizards.

With the both of them it took no time at all to finish off the remaining half dozen Lizards. Gwen webbed the last one to the ground and wiped slobber from her knuckles. No deaths from either the Lizards or the innocent people. She'd consider that a victory, "Need to tell Wasp about these..." She knelt down to the closest unconscious man-reptile and frowned. The last thing they needed was someone trying to recreate the Lizard.

Hell, knowing Jameson he'd probably try to pin it on Peter, the ass.

"Spider-Woman?" She looked back and found blonde light guy staring at her with an undecipherable expression.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, thanks for the team-up." She pushed herself up to her feet and looked up at a nearby building. Cops were coming but she didn't need to stick around. Wasn't like giant rampaging Lizards needed proof for arrest, "I gotta go. Gimme a heads up if you need me to return the favor." That was how most team ups went, really. Initiative members tended to patrol either in teams or pairs and sticking around after a fight was pretty rare; mostly cause the last person who left was stuck talking to the cops and that took a while sometimes.

She'd made it to a far enough building before she heard him again, "Ah, wait!" She looked back just as he landed beside her. She had to admit, she kinda wished she could fly too. Web swinging was definitely a thrill, but floating through the air like Peter Pan sounded cool too.

**'I'm sorry for disappointing you.'**

_'That's not what I meant and you know it.' _She rolled her eyes. Webster would probably use it to guilt trip her for more chocolate, "Oh, hey. What's up? Something wrong?"

"No, but..." He crossed his arms and considered his next words, "I was hoping we could chat. It's been a while since we've last conversed after all."

"Huh? We met before?" She definitely didn't remember someone who looked like they stepped out of an Amazingman comic.

"Oh, but of course. I have no doubt you wouldn't recognize me given my altered appearance." His long blonde hair shortened into a darker shade and the bright lights disappeared to expose a...vaguely familiar face, "It's nice to see you again."

"Uh, you too...Mr. Roxxon." Phew, dodged a bullet there. The last time she met the guy she distinctly remembered cussing him out for shit talking Peter before Tony Stark interrupted. She would've thought the guy would stay as far away from her after that, but the look on his face said 'no hard feelings', "I didn't know you were a Superhero. Didn't see you on the Initiative list."

"Yes, it's rather new." He chuckled.

"Huh...well, thanks again for the help. Like I said, if you need me to pay back the favor you just gotta ask. I'm good for it."

"Yes, I'm well aware." He chuckled again, "Actually, I was hoping to ask it of you now."

"Alright, shoot."

"I haven't actually registered with the Initiative yet due to how recently I gained these gifts, so could you please join me on patrol? With you vouching for me I won't be cast with suspicious glances." Huh, that seemed harmless enough. It still made her laugh sometimes that Spider-Woman was considered a good authority on character. Sometimes she still expected the curtain to fall and things to fuck her again.

"Fine by me. You wanna go on patrol? I still got some hours to kill." Peter said he was coming over in a few hours so until then she was good.

"Yes. Let's go."

It'd been a while since she patrolled with another person. Sure there was Kate and Cindy, but they tended to stick around to their own little haunts and only called for backup if villains tried to set an ambush. She and Roxxon wandered around aimlessly and stopped whatever crime they could. No more Supervillains for the rest of the day, at least, so it wasn't all bad.

It was close to 5 in the afternoon by the time she decided to call it quits, "Thirsty?" He nodded and she got two sodas from the closest vending machine. She tossed one to him and zipped up to a nearby skyscraper so she could watch the setting sun. She sat down on the edge of the roof and Roxxon sat close next to her. Gwen subtly scooted away; she liked her personal space and she didn't know the guy too well.

"A nice view," he said after a few seconds of silence.

"Yep." She needed to take Peter here sometime. Sure, she liked just spending time in the apartment, but it was nice to get out sometime. That and she missed their pizza dates.

"I'd like to thank you for helping me out today."

"It's cool. You helped me out and I helped you out. Tit for tat."

"Perhaps, but I am still grateful for showing me the ropes." The guy held himself up pretty well for a newbie. Somewhat clumsy, but who was she to judge on that? It took months of She-Hulk and Cap training her before she stopped relying on Bruce Lee films to fight and even then she still slipped back sometimes, "Perhaps we could meet again after this?"

"Sure. I'll give you my prioricard number." It was mostly used to call for SOS and tracking and a way to avoid getting spammed with messages. She still kinda regretted giving Gayle her phone considering the amount of spam messages she got.

"I was hoping to meet outside of patrol. Outside the masks, if you will."

"Oh..." She took a sip of her Professor Pop, "Well, I'm actually pretty testy about my secret identity." Kinda came with the whole 'hunted down for allegedly murdering her best friend for two whole years' thing.

"Ah...well, I assumed since I'd revealed my identity..."

"Yeah, sorry." It wasn't like she _asked _him to do that. She would've been fine with Will O' The Wisp (the name he introduced himself to citizens as), "I've got...trust issues." It wasn't a lie, at least. That was what Cindy's psychologist said.

"Aren't there others aware of your identity?"

"Sure, but I've been through a lot with them. I trust them."

"...And Spider-Man?"

Gwen raised a brow. Singling him out wasn't odd - blurting out 'I love you' on a live interview tended to do that - but it still annoyed her somewhat, "I trust him too." She finished off the last of her soda and took out a disposable copy of her prioricard, "Here, use this if you wanna team-up." She placed the card between them with a bit more force than necessary and pulled her mask back down.

She wanted to go home.

Roxxon looked like he wanted to say something else, but she was swinging away before he could get a word in. Gwen put him out of her mind and by the time she arrived back home her slight irritation had completely waned away. She swung into her room and shifted back into a more casual outfit as she made her way to the living room door, "Is that...bacon?"

Her face broke out in a smile when she opened the door and was greeted by Peter's with an honest to god apron hovering over the stove. The dinner table was filled to the brim with plated of most of her favorites, "Hey, Gwen." He turned back and gave her a small smile, "I got here a bit early so I thought I could cook something up."

"If you're trying to convince me that you're the best roommate ever, it's working." She sat down on the table while he grabbed some meat from a nearby plastic bag and began grilling, "Come on, let's eat."

"It's fine, you go ahead." He waved a hand through the air and she dug in after only some slight hesitation. Webster separated from her and landed on the table with a dull plop. She wasn't one for meat.

Gwen opened the fridge door with a quick web yank and frowned slightly when she saw the chocolate was gone, "Hey, you seen any chocolate bars around? Coulda sworn I still had some left over."

"Oh, I used them for something." He gestured a lightly boiling pot. Webster whined and rubbed up against her hands, "I got this recipe while I was over in France. Place gives me nightmares, but they know how to use chocolate." He let the meat fry and grabbed the pot full of chocolate along with a plate full of cookies and placed them on the table next to Webster, "I'm not one for sweets, so I hope it's alright."

As soon as he opened the lid and exposed the the light brown concoction inside Webster immediately perked up. She peeked over the edge of the still-hot pot and gingerly picked up one of the cookies to dip it inside. Gwen could practically feel the symbiote salivating as she pulled the treat out and absorbed it into her goopy form.

All was quiet for a few seconds before Webster suddenly spoke up.

**"Gwen, marry him."**

"Wh-What?" She nearly choked on her roast beef.

**"You have my approval. Marry him. Actually, please do."** Webster grabbed two chocolate covered cookies and gorged them down hungrily, **"But he must make these every day. No exceptions."**

"I guess the kid likes em." Peter laughed under his breath and his cheeks were slightly red. She wanted to see more of that, "I've picked up a few other things. I'll see what I can do."

He grabbed the grilled meat and set it down on a large plate before sitting across from her. This was...nice. Just the three of them eating (or nibbling, in Peter's case) and talking about anything that came to mind. Gwen couldn't stop herself from giggling when Webster draped herself over Peter's arm and started begging for more chocolate. He looked honestly confused on what he should do.

"You know, we never really talked about where you'd be rooming," she said conversationally, "Assuming MJ doesn't move out, I mean."

"I thought I'd take the couch." He set Webster down gingerly and tried to ignore her 'purring', "Seemed obvious enough."

"Yeah, well...why don't we room together? It might be a bit of a tight fit, but we're both pretty flexible."

"Oh, um...well, I wouldn't be against it." It intrigued her how easily he could shift. He could aim a gun at someone's head without flinching but the thought of even going out on a date made him a hesitant, blushing mess. Was it wrong for her to want to see more of it? For most of the time she knew him he'd always kept up the mask of Spider-Man even after he grew to trust her. Seeing his red cheeks and nervous smiles felt like he was finally letting her see more of Peter Parker.

Gwen knew why, of course. Ever since he woke up in that alley he'd barely had a chance to be anything _but_ Spider-Man. There were times when they could both let go of the masks, but with monsters like Murderdock and that bastard Jack it was hard to let your guard down for more than a few seconds. It was the main reason why she'd been so insistent on him attending ESU. He needed a life outside of the mask.

She touched his thigh with her foot and almost grinned at his surprised look, trying to ignore her own burst of embarrassment. She wasn't what you could call flirty. She knew how it worked, but Betty and MJ were better at the 'game' than she ever was. It wasn't like it mattered much - she didn't care about dating for years and her relationship with Peter could hardly be considered normal.

"I...I'm going somewhere in a bit." He coughed.

"Oh? Too bad." She dragged it up lazily up his thigh while Webster looked between them. It didn't take long for her to figure out what was happening and she immediately jumped to the couch and turned on the tv to prepare to drown them out, "You gotta leave right now?"

"Well...I guess I can stay for a bit longer." Peter smiled back at her.

An hour later and Peter was getting ready to leave. Gwen smiled and sat up, the blanket covering her bare chest, and playfully smacked his bottom, "Good luck saving the city." He rolled his eyes in amusement and was out before she knew it. She sat at the bed for a few more seconds before pushing herself up and stretching out her arms above her head. Good thing MJ wasn't around to see her.

She put on a loose shirt and some underwear before she joined Webster in the living room/kitchen. The little blob was actually licking the bottom of the bowl of Peter's chocolate fondue thing.

"Okay, Webs, we need to talk." Gwen stuck her hand out and Webster immediately jumped to rejoin her. The two of them went to the bathroom and Gwen turned on the faucet, "You've been pigging out way more the past couple months. What the hell's going on?" She splashed some water on her face and let the cool water jolt her awake. Maybe she could get some patrolling done again-

**'I...think I'm what humans call pregnant.'**

Well..._shit_.

* * *

Lana yawned and adjusted her place on the waiting room chair while Gabe checked something on his phone next to her. All around them were a few other milling patients and nurses passing from room to room tending to the patients.

She still didn't like hospitals. It seemed like every time she went here things went to absolute shit - that fucker Kasady, that electric bitch with a god complex...at this point she expected it to get nuked from orbit the second she took a step inside. Nothing so far, but it'd only been about an hour. She wasn't counting her shitty luck out just yet.

She adjusted her legs to get some blood back into them and sagged in her seat. The only reason she and Gabe were here was to visit that girl, Aracely. The hospital wasn't able to dig up any papers on her - surprise, surprise...not - and as the person who brought her to the hospital she felt sort of responsible to make sure she was alright in lieu of any other family. Gabe came along too, mostly cause Lana couldn't speak of a lick of Spanish.

Thankfully most of the people didn't recognize her without her costume. There was a guy about a couple of years older than her who asked for an autograph, which she reluctantly agreed to so they wouldn't cause a scene. A little boy in a patient gown who looked about 6 or 7 stared at her as he passed and she grinned and waved at him, which caused him to laugh. Kids were easier most of the time.

"Looking for your new target, Reyes?" She asked softly enough that no one else could hear.

"N-No, just checking the news..." he mumbled. For a guy who snuck into criminal hideouts he definitely didn't have the ego to come with it.

"Hey, cheer up. If it weren't for you me and Anya wouldn't have found those assholes." She clapped his back encouragingly.

"It was nothing, you guys did all the work..."

"...Yeah, we really need to work on your confidence issues."

A nurse came up to them both and told them to go to room 307. Lana went inside with Gabe and the younger girl on the bed immediately perked up, "_Ah mi héroe!_" Well, she didn't need Gabe to tell her what that meant. The doctor at her side - rotund blonde man who introduced himself as Donald Meland a night prior - smiled at them both and continued monitoring the girl's heart rate as she babbled, "_Te escuché peleando en la caja. ¡Parecías tan enojado!_"

"She said she heard you fightig while she was in the crate and that you sounded angry."

"Yeah, well, they were a bunch of assholes." Gabriel didn't translate it back for her, "So...are you alright now?" That one he actually did.

"_Sí. Deshidratación, inanición, pero sin heridas._"

"She says that she was hungry and thirsty, but apart from that no wounds." That must've been what the IV was for.

"Ms. Baumgartner, could I speak to you outside?" Dr. Meland said. She nodded and followed him out while Gabriel continued to chat with the girl, "Given what you told us before, I assume it's fair to say that this is your first meeting with her and you had no prior relations?"

"Yeah, why?"

"That...makes things a bit more difficult." He frowned. Not a good sign, "We couldn't find papers on her the night prior, but that's to be expected given the rushed state she was in. We looked closer and searched up her full name on every known database we had and came up with nothing. I think it's fair to say that Ms. Penalba is not an American citizen."

"She was in a fucking cargo crate. I coulda told you she wasn't from here." Lana scoffed, "What about it?"

"It concerns what'll happen after she recovers." His expression was troubled, "Ignoring the cost of treatment since it wasn't as expensive as we expected, she has no place to stay. She has no papers and when asked about family she claims to not remember anything outside of her own name. This isn't that shocking due to the traumatic experience she just underwent, but it does make things...difficult."

"Difficult how?"

"The most likely scenario is she's going to be deported," he said grimly. It was clear from his expressions and tone that he was just as put off as she was, "No papers, no memory...there won't be much mercy for her once this is reported to the authorities."

"The fuck? If she doesn't remember anything then how do you guys know where to even put her?!"

"_We're _not doing anything of the sort. We're a hospital, nothing more and nothing less. I'm simply telling you the most likely sequence of events." They both looked back into the room. Aracely was smiling and talking to Gabe. She stopped and waved at them happily, which Lana forced herself to return, "We'll do our best to accommodate her. I simply thought you should know since you have the most investment in her well-being so far."

"Yeah, thanks..." Lana turned away from Aracely and scowled, "Look, I'll pay for her hospital bills, don't worry." Least she'd be using her 'daddy's' allowance for something worthwhile. If he didn't like it, tough, "Look, I'll...thanks for telling me."

Lana shouldn't have cared. Sure she could feel bad, but she'd already saved the poor girl from being pimped out to some depraved fuckhead who'd use her like she was a sex doll to get his dick wet. She'd done enough.

_Then again_, the nagging fucking voice at the back of her head said, _Pete shouldn't have cared about you either after he saved you._

"Something wrong, Lana?" Gabe asked.

"Nothing, just...talked to the doctor about some things."

"_... Estas preocupado por mi?_" Lana shook her head at Gabe; she didn't want him to translate anymore.

"Yeah...hey, listen I'm gonna take off, yeah? I'll come visit you tomorrow." She needed to clear her head and think of something, even if she already knew it was pointless. The only one who could do anything for her was William, and she'd be fucked if she was gonna put that girl not being deported into the streets on his choice. She waited for Gabe to leave before she started walking out.

"_Estaré bien. Por favor cuídate, Lana. Las cosas no terminarán aquí. __Para cualquiera de nosotros_."

Lana stopped. Did she ever tell Aracely her name? She shook her head. She was just being paranoid.

She went her separate ways with Gabe and took the all too familiar train to Queens. She still went here sometimes to hang out with Gayle when she had some free time. Pete told her he was having dinner at the Watsons and invited her to come along. She accepted. Besides, it'd be nice to see him again.

Lana stopped when she saw the familiar figure sitting on the bench close to the drop off. He looked different, but then again so did she. Puberty hit her 'like she was a cheap hooker and her pimp had mommy issues', to use her mom's joke. She was practically as tall as him now (though that wasn't exactly hard...) and she'd lost the last of that baby fat and replaced it with lean muscle. That one she placed more on the Initiative training, though. Their drill sergeant could be a right bastard about keeping them in shape.

"Hey, kid."

"Don't call me that."

She hugged him. He stumbled slightly at the sudden embrace but quickly stabilized himself. Lana laughed and pressed her face against the crook of his neck, ignoring the the tickle of the stubble on her skin. It'd been a whole year. A whole year since she could actually talk to him through anything outside of a cellphone screen; and even that was hit or miss. Some of the places he went to didn't have the best cell signals.

They separated eventually and walked side by side to the Watson house as he filled her in, "You remember Mary, right? Your friend's older sister?" She nodded, "Well, she's been having some...issues with that thing on her." She nodded again. She didn't know as much about that as much as them, but it didn't take a genius to figure out Kasady's monster wasn't nice, "I was hoping that we could help her out."

"Pete, I really don't think either of us are psychiatry material." She laughed under her breath.

"Me either, but I think we can still help." Lana shrugged and rang the doorbell. Fine, how bad could it be?

* * *

**Making some progress. I originally planned for the second segment to be Cindy focused but I switched to Lana to make the POV changes more balanced. Next chapter (after possibly Frog-Man) will focus on Mary Jane and either Gwen or Cindy. Something tells me Gwen's bombshell at the end is gonna complicate the living arrangements between the three.**

**Questions:**

**1\. More a question, but for the people who read through all the romances did you guys prefer Noir/Gwen - strained, prone to arguments and the pair tried to change the other - or Original Noir/Shadowcat - casual, violent and less judgmental. I tried to write the relationships as foils (Laura's presence helped) to one another and I'm curious which one people preferred.**

**2\. So...do you guys want more of the mushy stuff like the end of the Gwen segment or do we hold off now? ****  
**

**Review Answers:**

**Raymond49090rc - Nope. There was an entire thing in the last volume where Teresa healed him and Gwen is very relieved he can see again.**

**Titan616 - Matt's history is hard to gauge since it's so damn contradictory due to him and the Beast giving accounts that really don't match up. For example, apparently he'd been possessed for at least ten years given Moon Knight fought him in the past and yet he mentions trying to kill himself and only getting possessed when he saw Gwen, which happened just a few months prior to the start of V1. **

**We could argue he was a criminal before possession, but remember Noir allied with the likes of Bullseye and Punisher; why would a depowered Matt be considered more dangerous? Cloak and Dagger's name reversal is addressed later and as for Felicia - Felicia's help is optional. Cindy was expected to handle this on her own so S.H.I.E.L.D isn't paying for a partner. I mean, the polices station won't comp a cop if he says he wants to hire a P.I, right?**

**Leaptallfics - Yes, monogamy is a choice, at least to me. Being attracted to someone else while having a partner isn't being non-monogamous. Gwen could find MJ attractive but if that's all she does and sticks to making kissy faces only at Peter then she's monogamous; action is what counts here. That and, while a 3-way relationship is a good writing challenge, I'm not sure I'm up to it. I can barely write regular romance.**

**Bagration - Yes, Scarlet MJ is indeed thicc, as you can see in the new cover. Also, yeah, Gwen needs to learn to keep her mouth shut. Even Venom was embarassed for her this chapter.**

**Noisy-Cricket - Those kinds of double dillemas fit Gwen more since she has an active secret identity. Noir lost his because of Jack and can presumably just keep switching identities given he has little known friends/family in New York and he's friends with the likes of Cindy and Moon Knight.**

**Guest 1 - Change to an M rating? I think it's working out fine so far. That and I get more reviews this way, I think.**

**Anti-W.T.F - Well, Sinister Six in this chapter. Problem comes that the most dangerous members (Ock, Venom, Electro, Sandman) either don't exist in this verse or were already killed, leaving just the joke version from Superior Foes. Those guys couldn't fight regular Spidey, what more a Venom powered one?**

**Road Back feels superfluous now that Original Noir's back home. As for Frog-Man...well, his epic rivalry with Frog-Man is the stuff of legends, as always. While Noir's fighting centuries old ninjas and Gwen's dealing with a criminal mastermind CEO, Frog-Man's fighting a bored millionaire with a bunny fetish. Clearly he knows what's up.**

**SHIPWRECK-5897 - Divorce and adultery? You seem cynical. Anyway, that kind of chapter seems needless since the main story already tackles the Peter/Gwen romance.**

**Guest 2 - Christ Carter effect is hard to gauge since fanfics generally have lower standards. As for the second trope, we'll see. Some people might not like the direction of MJ's character.**

**DigitalEmperor001 - What are you talking about? Noir just met a completely revamped Norah at a museum; that was totally originally planned ;) **

**Shothero - No more power-ups. The characters already got them in V1 and in the timeskip they leveled up experience wise so they don't struggle as much in fights. MJ's the exception and that's justified by her being scared of Carnage's full powers.**

**Victorules - Been getting your reviews for V1 for a while. Finished already? That was fast. As for Laura? We can't be sure. It's not like anyone in the cast would keep in contact with her, though the way her segment ended up indicates she'd be back in Earth-65 after a couple of weeks. She's likely in school given both Original Noir's and Shadowcat's **

**Vitiate - Welcome :) Carnage/MJ a bond? It seems like MJ still hates it. As for naming, Gwen isn't too bad. She probably had a hand in naming her new little sister and Helena's a decent enough name. Noir just sucks, which is odd considering he had a penchant for nicknames early on - White Widow (Gwen), Summers (Norah), Cat (Felicia), Brother (Original Noir) etc etc.**


	6. These guys need sleep

**Not a Frog-Man chapter, sad to say. I want to get through to MJ's first modelling gig and Peter's first attempt at attending a lecture before we get to that greatness. It'd also line up with the current timeline since Frog-Man meets Gwen and Peter on campus.**

**The tone of this chapter is kinda all over the place. It makes some sense why, but people might still be confused. Also, I've been getting some reviews asking for where Shadowcat and Laura are. I'll be honest, I hadn't planned to make them show up again cause, similar to Helen Stacy, their role in the story is done and they have little to no plot role anymore.**

**Still, ask and ye shall receive. I put a segment in to show where they are. Probably doesn't make sense, but that's what happens when it's so slapdashed.**

**I'm also looking at Lana's future segments and...wow, it ended up being way more anime than I planned, mostly on the love triang relations front. So far we have: Lana has a crush on Noir and slight favor to Gabriel, MVP and Gabriel both like Lana, Anya likes MVP, MVP and Sue are being pressured to dating for the sake of good publicity despite just being friends, Sue is neurotic about keeping her friendship with Lana and likes Gabriel, and Aracely just randomly reads their minds and blurts it out to make it uncomfortable.**

**I should probably tone it down. Don't want this story to get too silly...**

**Side Note - I can't believe I have to say this, but here we are. No, _Gabriel Reyes is not freaking Reaper_. He's a canon character in Marvel. Look him up on the wiki. **

* * *

Cooking with her mom was one of the new things MJ did to clear her mind. She was kind of ashamed to admit that she hadn't spent much time with her till a year prior. She was always so busy with the band and coming up with new songs and finding gigs that there were days she just screened her mom's calls. It was probably part of the reason why she'd believed her piece of shit dad was actually changing.

She cut through the raw meat and looked idly at the cookbook. It was some sauced chicken recipe that she couldn't even pronounce, **_'Hey, I'm hungry,'_ **Crimson said. Mary Jane rolled her eyes. It always did this. It wasn't enough for it to just take some off her plate. No, it wanted fresh meat; and by fresh it meant raw. Double points if there was still blood on it.

_'Can't you just wait?'_

_**'Sure, but don't expect me to be quiet.'**_

Mary Jane groaned and, after making sure her mom wasn't looking, cut out a decent sized chunk of wet meat and stuffed it into her mouth. It didn't taste foul - actually it tasted pretty good - but she still felt like the kid sneaking off licks from the cookie batter when her mom wasn't looking. She cut out another piece and ate it quickly just before her mom turned around.

"Need some help, MJ?"

"Mm- no, I'm good." She gave her an awkward thumbs up and tried to ignore the heat on her cheeks. _That_ was too close.

**_'I don't get why you're being so jumpy,'_ **Mary Jane ignored it, **_'It's just some chicken. Not like you're eating stuff from the people you kill; not that'd be against that either-'_**

_'Crimson, I swear to god!' _She just barely held herself back from growling while the red bastard laughed. She knew the damn thing was just trying to rile her up, but it was hard to ignore when it knew exactly where to poke and prod. Another unfortunate side-effect from the fact that it was in her head 24/7.

30 minutes passed and Crimson groaned, **_'This'd go faster if you just used me. I can even pretend that chicken is a person.'_**

_'Not happening. I know where those hands have been.'_

She continued cutting and snuck off another bite to keep Crimson quiet. Wasn't like Peter ate a lot anyway so it wasn't a big deal if there were a few bites missing. She put the chicken in the pot and wiped her hands, "Gayle, you done setting up?" she called out.

"Yep!" She saw a thumbs up from the couch before Gayle focused her attention back on the laptop. Probably another fanfic, though she'd been branching out to making comics commissions. It paid decently well, "You sure Gwen isn't coming along?"

"For the last time, no. If you wanna visit Gwen just go across the street." Mary Jane brought a hand through her hair and breathed in deeply. Gayle's crush on Gwen hadn't abated at all the past year and Peter leaving seemed to put the thought in her head that Gwen was now open. A lot of her fans did when they realized he was gone and Gwen admitted as much in a later interview. Nevermind the fact that she didn't say anything about breaking up and that she expected him back sooner or later.

"Eh...I don't wanna. Her new mom scares me." Well, she could agree with that. Jessica Jones definitely had a bad case of RBF (resting bitch face).

Thankfully the doorbell rang and saved her from discussing her best friend's strangely packed love life. Mary Jane opened the door with Gayle in tow and smiled when she saw Peter with his sister behind him, "Hey, Tiger." She let him past while Gayle high fived Lana and started talking animatedly about something the latter looked embarrassed about. She definitely caught 'Punished Spider' in there, though.

"Welcome you two." Her mom smiled politely, which both Peter and Lana reciprocated. Lana'd come over before, but this was the first time Peter had been here since the time he an Gwen rescued her, "I heard you were back in town."

"Guessing you saw Gwen then..." Gayle muttered.

"Sorry to disappoint you." He gave her younger sister a wry smile and she harumphed.

They all sat at the table and ate the food. Mary Jane smiled and made pleasant conversation. It all felt so fake. None of them aside from Peter knew. Knew that they were in the table with a serial killer who hunted down human garbage. Then again, would anyone but Gayle and her mom even care? She knew Peter and Lana were friends with that Bullseye guy before he bit it.

"So how's the exciting life of an Initiative Hero?" Gayle asked Lana. Her tone was light and teasing, but she knew her sister enough to catch the undercurrent of jealousy. It wasn't a surprise - one of her best friends was a hero, her crush across the street was Spider-Woman and even her own sister got powers. Nevermind the fact that said powers come with an annoying little voice in her head that never shut the hell up.

**_'You love me.'_**

_'Yeah, you're my favorite parasite...'_

**_'Parasite?!'_** Mary Jane covered her mouth with one hand and smirked. Very little pissed Crimson off more than being accused of being all take and no give. Apparently even murderous blobs had pride.

Powers definitely weren't all they were cracked up to be, that was for damn sure, though according to Betty incidence of 'power envy' - which she needlessly pointed out wasn't the same as penis envy - had been at an all time high recently. Apparently the Initiative showed off a brand new world and now everyone wanted in. It was the celeb craze for a new age.

"Same old, same old." Gayle pouted at Lana's casual dismissal. Mary Jane needed to talk to her about her little green streak before it festered. Last thing they needed was another Watson living up to her green eyes.

**_'Maybe she'd appreciate what I have to offer more than you...'_**

_'Touch her and I'll kill you.'_

**_'Why don't we ask her?'_**

_'No.' _

She ignored everything else it tried to say for the next hour. Gayle and her mom washed the dishes while she went up to get some air. Literally. Mary Jane opened the attic window that led to the roof and breathed in the cold, polluted night air. She still came up here sometimes to clear her head. Sometimes she even caught Jessica or Gwen's dad in the morning and said hi.

It was mercifully quiet for half an hour before the window opened again and Peter peeked out with a small smile on his face, "Evening, Mary. Any reason you're at the roof right now?"

She rolled her eyes lightly, "Just needed a place to sit. 'Sides, it's my roof. I didn't creep in like a certain someone did a year ago."

"Right. Well, move over then."

He stepped out and she offered him a hand that he took gratefully. Peter sat down next to her and looked at the abandoned Parker household with a small frown. Ben and May were in France last she checked, but she had no doubt Peter still blamed himself for the two of them being forced out of New York. It was just how he and Gwen were.

And then, apropos of nothing, he suddenly said, "I talked to Summers last night." She almost forgot about that lame nickname of his.

"Oh?" She kept looking ahead to mask her expression, "Guessing it wasn't a date?"

"Well, maybe? Not sure how much she likes museums," he snarked, "What about you? What happened with your did?"

"Dad of he year got himself into some trouble." She could've left it at that. For some reason she kept going, "Borrowed money from loansharks and now he needs someone to pay his bills for him. I volunteered." Better than getting those 'businessmen' on Gayle and her mom. She knew Philip Watson he would throw his own ex-wife and daughter under the bus if he could.

"...How much is it?"

"2000 bucks." Not much in the grand scheme of things, but it was a hell of a lot for a drunk whoremonger who spent more of the day drunk than sober.

"Hmm, I could-"

"No, no, no." She put a finger on his lips and narrowed her eyes, "I know Gwencent's fucking loaded and you can get the money, but my dad is my problem, not yours. I can handle it. Besides, I already got a modeling gig offer. 500 bucks upfront and more if the boss likes what I offer."

"That much? That doesn't sound suspicious to you?"

"It's from Roderick Kingsley. From what I read up on him he's the kind of guy to buy a diamond toilet seat." Well, he bought a solid gold lamborghini, but close enough. Webswinging was better, "Trust me, I'm good. Besides, it might take my mind off my...other gig."

And just like that they were back into it. Mary Jane pursed her lips while Peter made a noise in the back of his throat, "You said you'd been doing it for months now." She nodded, "Summers said you two tried to control it. What did she mean by that?"

"Exactly that," Mary Jane said softly, "We spent almost half a year just...trying not to kill people." She didn't tell Gwen, though whether it was pride, fear or something else she couldn't say, "Norah helped me through the worst of it. Wasp tried too, but there wasn't much she could do. It wasn't something that could be fixed with more injections and tests."

"Then what was it?"

"It was..."

Crimson jutted out of her shoulder suddenly, **_"Your denial." _**Its wide smile used to make her shiver in fear. Now she just felt annoyed, **_"You just tried to deny that you didn't want the same thing as me."_**

"That's not true..." She looked away.

"What do you mean by that?" Peter asked Crimson softly.

**_"She's scared." _**Crimson honest to god cackled. It sounded so off hearing her own distorted voice coming out of the thing's mouth, _**"The longer we stay together the more our symbiosis deepens. It's been a year since you left, boytoy. My partner and I should've been joined at the hip inseparably for now, but the final thread of our bond is severed."**_

"I don't blame her. You're nothing like Gwen's partner."

**_"Yes, I'm far less spoiled for chocolate."_** It surged forward and stopped less than an inch from Peter's face. He didn't flinch at all, **_"She fights me because she's scared. Scared of what will happen when our bond becomes permanent." _**This time it was in front of her face. Mary Jane flinched, _**"So she'll deny and cry that she hates what she does even if the power and 'justice' makes her happy. Because she doesn't want to be a monster."**_

"Shut up..." The comeback was far weaker than she would've wanted, "I'm not a monster..."

**_"The only one calling you that is yourself."_ **Crimson hummed,**_ "Who cares if you kill people? You don't see the boytoy there calling himself a monster and he's killed more than you. This world is twisted. Murderers are called heroes as long as the people who lose their lives are the ones no one misses. I'm fine with killing those, so why fight it?"_**

"Because I can't trust you!" Mary Jane hissed, "How the hell do I know you'll just be fine with that forever? Because you say so? You and that bastard Kasady killed _hundreds _of people. Am I supposed to just trust that you're suddenly okay now because you said so? Go to hell!"

Crimson looked honestly _offended_ by that,_** "I've helped you so many times now! How long do I have to keep doing it before you decide I'm not planning to betray you?!"**_

"Gee, maybe when I forget the time you tried to make me kill Gwen and rape Peter!"

_**"Please, that was all you! I barely even had to nudge you were so desperate for him-"**_

She wrapped both hands around its neck to (try to) strangle the damn thing. For anyone outside looking in it might've looked hilarious, like a Simpsons sketch gone wrong. In truth she felt an almost blinding rage and it took all she had to not rip Crimson straight off her shoulder and leave a nasty hole in the process. Crimson was the same and tried to bite at her face, growling all the while.

It was Peter who broke them apart, "Enough. This is getting us nowhere." He grabbed her shoulder with one hand and Crimson's snake-like body with the other and pulled them apart harshly, "Hey, whatever your name is now. You said that you were fine with your current arrangement. Is that true?"

Crimson glared at her as it hissed, _**"Yes."**_

Peter pursed his lips, "...It's telling the truth." She looked up at him in disbelief, "Don't look at me like that. I'm not saying you should trust it, but it's not lying when it says that it's fine keeping this arrangement going."

_**"Death is death. Innocent or guilty, humans beg and cry in their final moments all the same."**_

"And what happens when I don't want to kill anymore?"

Crimson _laughed_, **_"Like you'd ever stop. You complain about the killing all you want, but your sense of_ justice-_" _**It said the word with a disturbing amount of glee, _**"-won't let you. Remember that woman we saved from getting cut up by her husband? Or how about those little girls when we sliced out that pimp's eyes? What was that movie line? It's a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it."**_

"This isn't a fucking movie..." she muttered pathetically. Mary Jane couldn't deny it. The thought of killing so many did still make her squeamish and give her bad dreams, but thinking about all the people she saved - how worse off they would've been if she wasn't there - made her feel...

It made her feel good.

"You know Wasp said I might be immortal," Mary Jane said suddenly. Peter didn't say anything as she tucked her knees into her chest.

**_"Immortality is unlikely. We'll probably live much longer than everyone around us, though." _**Crimson said almost conversationally.

"That's not the point! How long can we keep doing this, huh? I want to do other things besides killing people till eventually I slip up and get a shot through the head."

_**"We'd probably survive bullets easily. Besides, if you want to go back to that band of yours that's easy enough to fix."**_

"..._What?_" Mary Jane looked at Crimson with what must have been an ugly and murderous look on her face, "The hell do you mean an easy fix?! I've tried to get back in the band for a year and nothing's worked!"

**_"Because you resisted the symbiosis."_ **Crimson looked at her like _she_ was the moron, **_"Why do you think Stacy has no problems? Or why you can't control our powers as well? Our bond is weakened by your reluctance so it's much easier to separate us. A proper symbiosis between host and symbiote would make it much harder for even your terrible singing to separate us."_**

"Terrible si- oh, that's rich coming from the parasite!"

**_"Don't call me a parasite!"_**

They probably would've attacked each other again if Peter hadn't spoken up, "We're going nowhere with this. That thing isn't lying, hasn't since it showed up. Still, that doesn't mean you're wrong not to trust it. It hasn't exactly done much to endear itself to you." Yeah, understatement of the millennium right there.

Still, the thought of being able to go back to the band...it was definitely tempting. She didn't even care about playing gigs and becoming famous from it anymore. She just wanted to go back to the old days when they played in her mom's garage and she stayed up all night thinking up lyrics and the beat to go with them. As much as she complained and Gwen ditched those were the best parts of the past few years.

"...Could you help me?" she asked softly.

"With what?"

"With...this." She waved a hand through the air, "I'm not good with the whole vigilante hero shtick and I can't ask Gwen."

"What about that Initiative thing or that offer from the Avengers? Why not go there?"

"Sure. I'll go soon as you turn in _your _papers."

"...Point." He laughed under his breath and looked down. Her hand almost reached out to cup his face and make him face her again but she held it in. He was with Gwen, and even after she spent the last night killing half a dozen people she still found the idea of hurting either of them by trying to do anything with her feelings to be repellent. Gwen had made her thoughts on it very clear, after all.

Sadly, Crismon didn't feel the same.

_**"Ugh, your hormones taste awful."** _Peter attention snapped back to her and her face turned an unflattering shade of red. This was not how she wanted his attention, _**"Just kiss him and be done with it. He won't know you like him otherwise-"**_

"You damn-" It retreated back into her shoulder, laughing all the while. She reached out futilely to strangle the thing again and did her utter damndest to ignore Peter's stare at her side. Eventually she couldn't keep it up and turned to face him. Was it a good or bad thing that his cheeks were slightly red too? "That's...

"Um...well, that-"

"I...sorry."

"It's...It's alright. No need to apologize."

He knew Crimson wasn't lying because of that sixth sense of his. Mary Jane shut her eyes tightly and cursed out Crimson mentally. All it got her was a mocking laugh. Why the hell couldn't she have fallen for Felicia or something? That would've been classic, the two band rivals who ended up together. But no, instead she had to fall for her best friend and said best friend's boyfriend. _Fuck_.

Thankfully she didn't have to say anything. Mary Jane looked up and saw Gwen swing into her room and crawl inside without even looking at them, "What was that about?" she asked softly. Peter shrugged, stood and gestured to the to window, "...You gonna go over there?"

"In a bit. We...still need to talk about you needing help." Well, at least they weren't talking about her teeny tiny completely ignorable crush. Suck on that, Crimson.

**_'I'm not the one who wants to suck.'_**

_'...I hate you.'_

"I'll get a new phone so we can talk discreetly. Least until you're comfortable letting Gwen know." Why did they feel like a couple planning an affair? "I'm...not good at this mentoring thing, so don't expect much."

"Seriously? I saw your little sis down there and she's one of the Initiative honor students." She snorted, "I think I'm in good hands."

They both made their way downstairs and pointedly did not talk about that bombshell Crimson just dropped. When they finally got down Lana and Gayle were on the couch with a sketchpad, "Oh, MJ! Check this out!" Gayle padded over excitedly and and shoved the sketchpad to her face.

The drawing was pretty crude, but she definitely saw what looked like the beginnings of a Superhero costume, "What's that about?" Mary Jane asked.

"Well, since you're a Superhero now we - mostly me, but still - thought that you needed a better costume besides that old Halloween get-up." Hey, she liked that costume... "We've been trying to come up with something better for Scarlet Spider. I can draw and Lana's a beast at designing costumes. Perfect match!"

"Huh..." Well...she could appreciate the effort, at least. She put a hand on her chin and inspected the drawing. The figure looked like it was wearing a bodysuit with different coloration on the thighs and hands along with a mini-jacket that only went up to the elbows and waist. It was definitely more eye-catching than her last suit, at least. She noticed that the paper around its head was more worn and full of sketch marks, "Hey, what's with the head?"

"Oh, we were trying to come up with a good mask design, but it's kinda hard. The mask kinda makes your head look like an egg." Gayle frowned.

"Well...why not a hood-"

"Nope," Lana said.

"-to keep my head cov...ered..." She looked at Lana, "Uh...why not?"

"Because hoods are stupid and impractical and anyone who wears em when fighting and jumping around is dumb." Yeah...she got the feeling impracticality wasn't the reason for it. She shared a look with Peter and shrugged helplessly.

**_'I like her. She knows idiocy when she sees it._**

They spent the next couple of hours just tracing and re-tracing designs over and over, adding modifications - "Wait, your webs come out of your _knuckles_? The fuck?" - when needed. By the end of the second hour they'd managed something basic and even managed to color it somewhat when they transferred it over to Gayle's tablet. She had to admit, this was fun. She could almost pretend she was just a regular hero.

Lana left after the finalized the costume and both MJ and Peter decided to go check in on Gwen. They were at the driveway when Crimson spoke up, **_'You seem chipper.'_**

_'Yeah, and now that you're talking that's gone.'_ She stopped. Peter didn't notice and went inside ahead of her,_ '...What you said before, about me being able to play again. That was true, right?'_

**_'The boytoy said himself I didn't lie. I made a deal with you, I don't intend to break it.'_ **Long as she kept killing people, or at least maiming them and leaving them for the police. She wondered idly if she could ever be a real hero like Gwen and Kate and all those other people. Call her old fashioned, but she didn't want to be the Punisher or Moon Knight.

Shaking her head, she opened the front door and was immediately met with Peter sounding more scared than she'd ever heard in her life.

"What do you mean you're pregnant?!"

* * *

"Something wrong, sis?"

Cindy looked up from her Italian food and smiled at Albert next to her, "Uh, nothing. Just kinda tired."

"Are you sure? We can postpone this if you want?" Nari said from across the table. It came from genuine worry.

"No, I'm good. Trust me."

She was having dinner with her family...well, kinda family. After her evil twin was put behind bars permanently S.H.I.E.L.D put the Moons back to their house and even reimbursed them for all the damages. Cindy was prepared to cut off all contact then and there, but Albert refused. Maybe she wasn't his real sister, but she was definitely better than her and he didn't want to pretend she was just stranger.

Nari and Albert Sr. - cause they weren't her mom and dad no matter how much she might've wanted - were a bit more reluctant. So they did this every week or two - a 'family dinner' so they could just talk about their day and 'shoot the shit', as the kids say. Nari and Albert Sr. said they couldn't see her as a daughter, that the one they raised was a criminal and they had to live with that.

Still, that didn't mean she couldn't be the cool cousin or niece trying to bond with her extended family. It was more...honest than last time.

"Yeah, I saw you on a youtube vid earlier with Felicia Hardy. Working with popstars now?" Albert grinned.

"Ugh, don't remind me about her." Thankfully she'd managed to avoid having to pay another three grand. She'd asked for her consultation on the Matthews case and till that was solved they were stuck together, "How's things between you and Cissy?"

Albert was in ESU - the same ESU Gwen and the others studied at. She'd briefly considered joining them there before thinking better of it. Between regular heroics, working for the Freak Beat and being the janitor for the Avengers she already barely any time for herself. Even after this she'd get maybe two hours of sleep before another call from De Wolfe forced her back into another six hour stakeout.

"It's cool. We're taking it slow," Albert smiled.

"What about you, Cindy? Any recent dates that come to mind?" Albert Sr. asked.

"Eh...no, not really." She waved her forkful of lasagnia lazily, "Work keeps me busy, you know? Don't have time to date between everything." Not that she was much lacking in options. Not to toot her own horn or anything, but she was swiped right a decent amount of times...though at least a few thought she was 18 and lying about her age. It was funny and kinda flattering at first but then it just got annoying.

"I know it might seem odd coming from me, but maybe you should take a break?" Nari asked, "Every time we meet up you always seem so tired."

"Well, no one else is gonna do it." Cindy took a generous bite of her food and shrugged, "Had to pay three grand just to get Feli's help and that's on a case-by-case basis. Second I can start dating good and proper is when New York stops being a warzone."

She spent the next hour just chatting on whatever came to mind before promising to go to a Chinese place next week. Cindy waved goodbye to her not-family and sighed as soon as they were out of sight. Well, that was her daily allotted time of bonding done, "...I need a drink." She adjusted the plastic bag containing takeout and made her way to her usual store. It was the only place that didn't constantly card her.

"Home sweet home."

She flicked on the lights to her place and trudged to the couch, shucking off most of her padded clothes as she did. The place was spacious, well furnished and, best of all, completely hers with ownership fully paid for. A parting gift from S.H.I.E.L.D for all those months of exceptional service, or so Daisy said. They probably just wanted to endear themselves if (read: when) they needed her help for something again. She might've been a junior agent but superpowers were irreplaceable.

"TV on. Go to Webflicks." The voice command registered and she opened a can of beer as some teenage murder mystery came up. This was how she spent most of her nights nowadays - drinking corner store beer and binge watching shows she didn't even know the plots for. She drank down half the alcohol in one gulp and let out a relieved sigh. Thankfully she wasn't as much a lightweight as Gwen.

She woke up (she didn't even realize she'd fallen asleep) to the sound of the window being opened, "Not in the mood, Daisy..." The figure didn't stop in any way and when she looked up from her sideways position on the couch she found the younger woman grinning down at her, "...Today the day you finally plan to kill me?"

"Maybe next time." Cindy sat up and let Daisy sit where her head just was. The former(?) S.H.I.E.L.D agent grabbed one of the (warm) cans of beer and took a generous gulp, "Ugh, you need better stuff."

"I spent most of my money on a new cat." Daisy laughed while Cindy gave her a sideways glare. The tv was blaring out the new Spider-Woman webflicks series. It got good reviews, but she wasn't much a fan. Something about Gwen being some kind of model heiress just rubbed her the wrong way, "...I hate this show."

"Really? It's pretty good, but then again I'm only on episode 4." Daisy shrugged, "Maybe the Avengers series will be better? Spider-Woman doesn't have much of a supporting cast so far. I heard if it does well they'd give spinoffs to every character."

"I doubt it." Cindy smiled lopsidedly. Daisy was the closest thing she had to a friend nowadays outside of maybe Gwen and Kate. Initially she'd been sent to keep an eye on her and make sure that she wasn't revealing any of S.H.I.E.L.D's secrets. Her trial period ended a couple of months ago but Daisy still came by occasionally. She didn't mind; apartment was big enough for at least half a dozen people.

"So how are your cases."

"I got stabbed by a light dagger." Daisy raised a brow, "I think I've found whose been kidnapping those new Gifted."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Got away, though." Cindy clicked her tongue, "We're gonna talk to the guy they tried to kidnap tomorrow, but I'm not holding my breath."

"Hmm, well, good luck."

"...You know you coulda paid Felicia's bill for me."

"Technically you don't work for S.H.I.E.L.D and it doesn't exist anymore. 'Sides, it's not like you gotta pay rent." She gestured to the apartment lazily, "I think you can afford some help."

"That's not the point..."

They chatted for a few more hours and by the time Cindy fell asleep and woke up again it was a half hour past 6 in the morning with Daisy (and her remaining beer) nowhere in sight. Cindy yawned, did her morning rituals and walked the familiar path to a not so familiar acquaintance.

She used her key to open the door to the modestly sized house, "Laura? Kitty?" She called out. No answer, expected. The senior Spider sighed and made her way to the couch where, sure enough, Laura was sleeping under a metric ton of blankets with the TV on. All around her were discarded bags of empty chips and bottles of soda. How such a tiny thing could pack in so much Cindy had no idea.

Sighing, Cindy turned off the television and picked up the trash to put it away properly. When she said she was a janitor she sometimes meant it literally. Shadowcat had, for whatever reason, asked her to check in on Laura every Monday morning because she was usually at work and couldn't do it. Apparently she'd chosen her cause 'she pissed her off less than everyone else on that team you got'. Considering the only time they ever talked was when they were stopping her evil twin, Cindy had no idea where Kitty got that idea from.

Still, they wouldn't have been able to stop Moon without the two of them, so she agreed.

"Hey, Laura, up." She shook the little girl's shoulder. Laura growled softly and faced away from her. Cindy had to admit, the girl was cute. Sure she could probably kill her in six seconds flat, but cute was cute, "Laura, it's time for school."

Cindy sat on her back. The little girl growled and batted her away in irritation before she sat up, rubbing her eyes and completely disregarding the cheese powder around her mouth and the soda stains on her oversized shirt, "...Good morning," Laura said. She sounded like she had to force the two words out.

"You too." She gestured to the kitchen, "Come on, I gotta get to work soon so let's have some breakfast. I got lasagnia."

She heated up the takeout on the microwave and hummed. She was only supposed to check in to make sure 'the munchkin was still breathing', to use Shadowcat's words. That quickly turned to being the kid's babysitter whenever she could, which wasn't as often as she might've liked. Shadowcat did her best, but without Spider-Man around she didn't have much clue on how to be a parent.

Laura didn't mind. Apparently Shadowcat was more a sister than a mother and she did try to bond with the younger girl the best way she could. It was just harder without Spider-Man there to act as a go-between. Cindy couldn't blame her - if your only father was Logan she probably wouldn't have been the best parent either.

"Here." She set a generous helping on the girl's plate and set it in front of her.

"Thanks, mom."

She paused, but only briefly, and took her seat across from the grade schooler. It wasn't the first time Laura had called her that. The first time there'd been an awkward silence for a few minutes, but after Cindy didn't say anything there was a mutual agreement between the two that they wouldn't talk about it period. Laura still called her that sometimes, but she kept to the agreement and didn't say anything.

It was hardly shocking. Spider-Man was the closest thing she had to a dad and he was still back in his world stopping World War II and she was the closest thing to a mom around. She wondered idly how Nari, Albert Sr. and Albert would react if they knew she kinda-sorta co-parenting a little girl with knife hands.

Besides, she reminded her of Albert when he was young.

"Did you do your homework." Laura looked down at her food and didn't say anything, "Laura..."

"Math is hard," she whined, like it was the only explanation needed.

"Don't you have eidetic memory or something?"

"...Math is _boring_." She was full on pouting now. Cindy had to resist the urge to reach across and pinch her cheeks. She wasn't _that_ old, god damn it. 29 was still pretty young, "I won't use it anyway."

"Oh? How do you know that?"

"The older students always complain that they'll never use math when they get older. The teacher was also drinking in the toilet and crying about how her math degree amounted to 'a dead end job, a divorced husband and a kid who doesn't respect her'." Laura paused while Cindy stared owlishly, "She was surprised when she saw me and said I should never get married because 'men are all cocksu-'"

"O-kay! I think I gotta check up on your school..." She could probably get Daisy to give her some papers identifying her as a worried aunt. She had about as much of a resemblance to Laura as Shadowcat did, "Look, no matter how you feel about it you gotta do your homework. Grades aren't a joke."

"But..." Laura kicked her legs. A classic sign that she was going to fight tooth and nail to not do something.

"...Fine, how about this: you do all your homework without me telling you and get good grades and I'll buy you that puppy you want."

Laura's eyes widened, "Really? You are not lying?"

"You'd sniff me out if I was." Cindy waved a hand idly, "Can't stay here since Kitty doesn't like pets, but you know where my place is. I'll put him there and you can come visit whenever you want. How's that sound?"

Laura looked down and Cindy saw the epic struggle between doing her boring homework or slacking off. Eventually she let out a breath and nodded, "Fine, I'll do it," she said, sounding like _she_ was doing _Cindy_ a favor rather than the other way around, "I want one with a spot on its eye, like in that movie."

"Sure, sure." Cindy rolled her eyes.

They wasted till it was 8:00 and Laura had to go to school. She put on her backpack and stopped at the doorway, "Parent teacher day is coming soon. I asked Shadowcat but she said she can't be sure if she can come. Work...and she doesn't like talking to people." Cindy nodded, already seeing where it was going, "If need be could you-"

"Sure. Don't even need to ask."

Laura's beaming smile almost blinded her. Cindy waved goodbye and let out a soft laugh. This was one of the reasons why she almost had no free time, but she wouldn't change it for anything. Really, who needed a boyfriend when she was so busy? She didn't even really care.

Yes, that's just what she'd keep telling herself. It was easier than the harsh truth.

Her phone suddenly rang with Felicia's name on the screen, "Feli, what's u-"

"Come to the Washington Courthouse."

Felicia cut the call. Cindy looked down at the screen blankly and sighed. Why couldn't she ever say no? She'd probably agree if someone asked her to jump off a cliff. She changed into her costume inside and followed Felicia's gps (a requirement considering how dangerous their jobs were). Cindy found the former(?) cat burglar sitting at the edge of a distant building that allowed a perfect view of the courthouse.

"Morning to you too." Cindy said as she landed behind her. Felicia didn't say anything, "Uh...I'm not psychic, just so you know. So you're gonna have to-"

Felicia suddenly lashed out and, with nothing more than her spin-sense's slight tingle, the younger woman suddenly grabbed the front of her costume in a vice grip. Cindy moved automatically and grabbed the offending wrist with her right hand while the other unholstered her gun and aimed it at the thief's side, "Did you know?" Felicia asked, voice barely above a soft snarl.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Did. You. Know?" She tightened her grip, uncaring of the gun pressed against her side.

"I'm not psychic!" She pried Felicia's hand off - thank you, super strength - and pushed her back, "Maybe _explain _what you're asking before we have a stupid fight that gets us nothing but unneeded hospital bills."

Felicia took a deep, slow breath and, in lieu of saying anything else, pointed to the car surrounded by reporters. Cindy joined her on the edge of the roof and her grip on the gun tightened when she saw a familiar mop of red hair step out of the car while surrounded by men in suits.

"Is that..."

"That _connard_ Murdock..." Felicia's scowl was murderous. Murdock stopped at the edge of the steps and, for a second, she thought he'd turn to where they were. Instead a (rather rough) push from the closest man in a suit made him continue. It was obvious by the cast on his right arm and the noticeable limb in his step that he wasn't in the best condition.

"I thought you guys killed him?"

"Those damned ninjas who were on 'our side' took him. I knew I shouldn't have trusted them." Her scowl somehow worsened.

"Right, well...I get why you're pissed, but why bring me over here?"

"Because you have access." Cindy gave her a questioning look and urged her to continue, "I heard it through your office mates. That _diable_ is planning to confess everything in exchange for his worthless life. After that he'll be escorted back to his safehouse and you'll be part of the security force. Given the amount if dirty laundry he's airing out it's very likely there'll be at least a few attempts for targeted revenge."

"First time I heard of this." Not that she was surprised. She really needed an intern, "Still doesn't explain why you called me over."

"You're going to help me kill him."

Cindy raised a brow, "Right, and maybe next you want me to break into supermax and kill Red Skull's daughter." She shook her head, "I'm not exactly happy that guy's still breathing, demon or no, but I'm not gonna put myself in prison for it."

"I'm not asking you to pull the trigger." Felicia scoffed, "You'll escort him to his penthouse. The other guards will be easy enough to deal with, but I'm not foolish enough to think that I can fight you."

"So...you're asking me to look away when you do it?"

"Yes."

"Hmm..." Cindy crossed her arms and looked down at the courthouse. Technically speaking if she failed she'd get a reprimand, but if they had no proof she was colluding then that was the only punishment she'd get, "...Fine, only on the condition that you put on a disguise so no one knows it's you. I also want something exchange: once this happens you stop charging me so goddamn much for your help. I need all the help I can get and you're the best I've got."

"Deal." She said without hesitation. Felicia smiled, "Now...let's make sure that monster is put down for good."

* * *

**And there we have it. Mary Jane's making some progress on what she wants to do with herself, Cindy's a triple shifter who never gets any sleep and Felicia's planning to assassinate a now very human Matt Murdock. Oi vey. **

**Questions:**

**1\. For people who want more 'Just the Facts with J. Jonah Jameson' segments, please put in any topics you think he should cover. I'll find a way to twist them around so he blames Gwen but I need topics for him to twist.**

**2\. Bit early, but who do you guys think should get the new symbiote Gwen's 'birthing'? So far the prime candidates I have are Norah and Cindy, but in-universe both are _very _reluctant to accept and will only do it if there are no other options. Especially Cindy who doesn't want a second voice in her head. **

**And no, Peter is not an option. Spider-God is possessive, 'member?**

**Review Answers:**

**Eragen - No. Read note above.**

**Raymond49090rc - 1. Question answered; 2. No, it'll just be referenced and discussed, never shown; 3. He think he's entitled to Gwen and shows himself to be selfish and not above human experimentation. You do the math; 4. I change the covers cause they're fun. I keep the covers on my account. I'll change back again at some point dependent on where we are in the story. Since MJ's the current focus, Scarlet MJ it is.**

**Noisy-Cricket - Hey, Venom has very high standards! Noir is a damn good chef and pastry maker! Also, Gwen threatening to eat people proves she's a bad influence on Noir. He kills people, but he doesn't eat them!**

**Brave2000 - Trust me, Lana's segments have a lot of teenage crushes and romance drama. As for Robbie, he died during the street race where he WOULD have become GR. Gabe mentions it VERY early on. **

**NickaDiny - No plans for an original Noir chapter/story. As for Gwen and Noir: Gwen fights Hobgoblin while Noir fights the Five Fingers of the Hand, particularly Murakami.**

**RedHood001 - Something tells me Gwen won't name the kid that. **

**Roxasdualwielder - Yep. **

**Vengeance208 - Yes, I meant contrasts against each other. As for the mushy stuff, that's my main issue. There's no plot importance to their mushiness hence I want to cut it down.**

**Titan616 - Yep. It doesn't matter if both Gwen and MJ are bisexual if Gwen is very much unwilling to do anything outside of monogamy. As for Frog-Man? No one. He's too great and it's the destiny of all great heroes to live alone lest they put risk to their loved ones.**

**Translation: He's kind of a loser who's crushing on Spider-Woman, so he's basically Gunter from Friends. **

**Guest 1 - Gwen, Peter and MJ are definitely a fan of mundane utility. Cue Gwen using wall-crawling to vacuum the roof, Peter using invisibility to avoid hogging the bathroom when he changes and MJ cooking dinner with Carnage's knives. **

**Guest 2 - Mmm, I wouldn't know how to write a three-way, though, so I'll have to pass. **


	7. Morning Hangover

**Woah, so I got a sudden surge of 'Laura!' votes for the new symbiote host. Ironic, considering the only reason Laura's even here in the first place and awkwardly crammed into Cindy's segment was because readers kept asking about her. Similar to Helen Stacy she wouldn't have had any sort of plot importance in the original plans, so having her be a symbiote host is a giant bump up in role. Guess people _really _want a smol, bladed and tentacled murder machine.**

**Still, we'll see who the new host will be in the future. The baby isn't exactly coming next chapter and maybe the upcoming Ghost Spider 7 tomorrow will give me some ideas.**

**Speaking of chapters, this will be the last slice of life one and we can finally get back to some freaking plot! Sorry for everyone who got bored so far, we'll finally tackle some of the juicy stuff in the next update :D **

**...Of course, the next planned update is either the Mayday omake chapter or the segment about this story's true hero and savior, Frog-Man. Depends where we end up. **

**Oh, and for those asking about who the father for the new symbiote is - clearly it's Dog. That was obvious from the start. **

* * *

_J Jonah Jameson: Now, I've made my thoughts on various subjects clear and I never restrained myself. I wholly believe that you are entitled to your own opinion and no one can say otherwise._

_Except, of course, when those opinions are WRONG! Take this 'fan site', for example. Youths glorifying criminals like Spider-Woman and propping her up as some kind of role model! It's sickening! How everyone can remain blind to what a MENACE she is I'll never understand!_

_And it's bad enough that a bunch of teenagers do it - at least I expect them to make stupid decisions - but now we've got actual adults getting in on this! A Spider-Woman tv show?! A Spider-Woman video game?! Spider-Woman PLUSHIES?! This is WROOONNNGGG! Why are we praising her?! Are we praising killers like the Jack-o-Lantern?! No, then why are we doing it for Spider-Woman?! It's insane!_

_Let's not even start on those 'Spider Worshipers'! Those bunch of crazies actually idolize that murderer Spider-Man even after everything he did! Now I've heard some claims from people that these masked menaces actually do good, but how do you know they aren't faking the entire thing? What possible reason could someone have to run around in masks if they weren't just crazy?!_

_The man leading this group must be some kind of deranged maniac who enjoys the idea of making trouble for everyone else! This young man, whoever he is, needs _help_. It's clear he wasn't raised right and whoever parented him needs to be held accountable for raising such a twisted individual. Whoever you are, you have my sympathy and I hope whoever messed up in raising you pays for their screwed up values!_

_Now, you wanna talk about _real _heroes I can tell you about my son-_

* * *

Pregnant. Gwen was pregnant.

That was the first thought Mary Jane had when she woke up to the all too familiar roof of her bedroom the next day. The events of last night were still a blur, but she remembered the general details. Apparently it wasn't Gwen who was pregnant, it was Webster, and there was no actual father. Something about symbiotes reproducing asexually like some kinds of jellyfish.

Honestly, she didn't even want to think about it for a lot of reasons. Instead she went down, ate and changed into the outfit she'd prepared the night prior. Crimson could've shifted into it, but something about the routine of actually putting on her clothes made her feel relaxed. Soon enough she'd looked halfway decent and took a an Ooper (another part of being normal) to the venue.

Mary Jane couldn't believe she was actually here.

The redhead adjusted the collar of her blouse and swallowed nervously as she stepped inside the extremely wide room. The milling group of young women made her feel like tuna stuffed in a can despite the size of the venue they were in. The place was also cold, or maybe that was just cause she was nervous. Her outfit - a red blouse, dark shorts and strapped sandals - probably didn't help.

**_'You killed five people a couple of days ago. Why are you nervous about playing dress up?'_**

_'None of your business...' _She inspected her red painted nails to try and look calm. She'd been on the stage before, true, but always for the band. The idea of being up there for anything other than that was...odd. She knew she was pretty - she was confident, so sue her - but she never really thought about doing anything with it. At most she'd used it as a way to attract more attention for the band - a pretty redhead upfront was hard to resist.

She'd skipped out on her morning classes to be here. Thankfully the profs she had for those times were some of the more lax ones; long as she did the end of term project they wouldn't fail her even if she was absent the whole semester. She recognized at least a few other ESU students around here, so evidently she wasn't the only one who thought 500 dollars upfront and a possible modelling gig was too easy to pass up.

Though, she doubted any of them were here to bail out their asshole fathers.

Mary Jane tapped the message on her phone again and frowned. Mr. Southern Accent said they would meet at at a nearby McDaniels when this was done to make the first payment. 400 dollars upfront (hey, she needed _some_ pocket money) with the rest coming when..._if_ she passed the trial period. If she didn't...well, she'd either find another way or her dad was screwed. Either or.

**_'We could just kill them.'_**

_'I don't care enough _that _much about him.'_ Not enough to kill for, at least. She would've killed for a lot of people: for Gwen and Peter, for Glory and Betty, for her mom and Gayle, for Norah, but _not_ for him. He didn't deserve that from her.

There was a merciful quiet for a few seconds before Crimson spoke again, **_'You're thinking about Stacy's baby.' _**

_'Technically it's not _Gwen's _baby.' _She practically saw the symbiote rolling those soulless eyes of its,_ '...I think it should be obvious, but if you try anything I'm going to-'_

**_'I'm not trying anything. If I'm not touching Stacy I'm not touching her spawn.'_** She winced at the word. Spawn. Not even a child or a baby, just _spawn_, **_'Besides, she's having a kid. That's a fate worse than death already.'_**

_'You're not funny.' _She crossed her arms and looked around the area casually, _'I feel like an idiot for asking, but we're not gonna go through that...right?'_ She sounded pleading at the end. Please tell her she wasn't going to deal with baby para- er, symbiotes.

_**'...Of course not.'**_ Why didn't it sound so sure...? **_'Chocolate lover and I are made of different material. We both share the Lizard serum as a base, but the Hyde formula is far better than that radioactive trash Stacy has flowing through her veins.'_**

She didn't get a chance to say anything back before she got a tap on her shoulder. She turned around and blinked when she came face to face with a smiling young woman with long, curly dark hair, "You're new here too, aren't you?"

"H-Huh? Oh, yeah..." Mary Jane did her best to smile back, "That obvious?"

"You were standing so far apart from everyone else. Thought you might want someone to talk to." She extended a hand, "Marsha Rosenberg. Nice to meet you."

"O-Oh, uh, yeah! My name's Mary Jane. Nice to meet you too." Mary Jane's nervous smile expanded slightly. This was normal, friendly talk, but after having nothing but Crimson screaming into her head and keeping it a secret from her friends even a stranger's casual greeting made her feel warm in the stomach, "Yeah, it's my first time here. Kinda nervous."

"You and me both." She gestured to the side of the large room, "Wanna sit with me and my friend?"

"Sure!" Mary Jane said, just a little too eagerly. Damn it, Watson, get a grip, "I-I mean, cool with me..."

Said friend ended up being another redhead by the name of Mary MacPherran who tucked herself into the corner like a mouse. The description was accurate in more ways than one. The other Mary was small, easily a head shorter than Mary Jane and Marsha, and lanky to boot with thin hair that went to her waist. Her shirt and jeans looked somewhat oversized and the nervous look on her face really emphasized the word mousy.

Marsha was the opposite. She was a bit more on the rotund side with thick hair that stuck out somewhat from her head. Mary Jane didn't want to admit it, but neither of the two would've been her first thought when she thought of a model. Then again they weren't alone; she caught at least a handful of people who could be generously described as average milling around in their own little groups.

She, Mary and Marsha were tucked into a small corner with their chairs and they spent the next 15 minutes just talking. It was clear from the word go that Mary wasn't exactly a social butterfly.

"Why are we even here?" Her voice was soft and sometimes hard to hear from the other noise in the auditioning room, "They're not gonna accept us..."

"Have a little faith, Mary. That guy wouldn't have picked us if he didn't think we were worth anything." Marsha squeezed her shoulder reassuringly.

"I...I'm not so sure..." She looked at Mary Jane, "What about you? Why are you here?"

"Me? Well..." She leaned forward on the backwards chair and put her head atop her arms, "My dad's not exactly the best with cash and he borrowed money from some...friends. I felt bad so I thought I could make a little extra here." It wasn't the truth, but it wasn't a lie either, "500 dollars upfront for everyone who showed up, right? Seems like a sweet gig so I went for it."

"Yeah, it's the same for us. Well, not the dad thing, the money," Marsha said, "Me and Mary work over at the Nine-Five near ESU. That's where that guy saw us and made us the offer."

"Huh...wait, I think I've seen you two around." Mary Jane rubbed her chin, "Is it the one near grande blvd? The one where the sign's busted up cause-"

"Cause Bodega Bandit's Banditos tripped over it? Yeah..." Mary laughed softly. The smile made her look far less insecure,"I saw you a couple of times there. You're...You're really pretty. I'm sure you'll pass."

"Hopefully. I need to pay dad's bills." She snorted, trying ignore the wry smile that threatened to come out. They didn't need to hear her problems, "If not then I guess it's back to the ticket counter for me."

They talked for almost 30 more minutes before Mary volunteered to get them sodas from the nearby table. Mary Jane went with her (she was hungry anyway) and they were on their way back to Marsha when it happened.

A tall blonde practically stomped up to them and Mary didn't have enough time to stop. The soda spilled onto Mary's shirt and she dropped the pastries in shock, "Ugh, watch where you're going, Skeeter!" Mary Jane scowled and turned to look at the all too familiar face.

Sally Avril. Self-proclaimed Queen Bitch of ESU and Midtown High before had all the hallmarks for it considering she was a tall, lightly tanned blonde dressed to the nines with the latest fashions courtesy of daddy's money. Mary Jane never liked her, but she couldn't say they interacted all that much. She was with the popular rich kids and Mary Jane was too busy with the band.

"S-Sorry..." Mary looked down at her soaked shirt and looked close to tears.

"You think that's good enough?" Avril sneered down at the shorter woman, "Do you have any idea how much this shirt cost? I bet it's worth more than whatever you make in that store-"

"Hey, back off." Mary Jane stepped in front of Mary and matched Avril's sneer, "_You_ were the one who bumped into _her_. I'd say you her an apology, Sal."

The blonde blinked in surprise, seemingly from the fact that someone was talking back to her, before her expression of distaste returned, "Watson. Ugh, what are _you_ doing here?" She looked down at her with so much elitism that she would've made Felicia Hardy proud. This was a girl who had everything go her way since day one. She was also one of the people who made Peter's life utter hell.

**_'She's annoying.'_**

"If you seriously don't know the answer to that then I really worry for you." Mary Jane crossed her arms while Mary shrunk behind her, "Now apologize."

"For what? She ruined my outfit." She gestured to her silk top which, of course, had maybe two tiny drops on it while Mary's shirt was soaked to the front, "If these stains don't come off I'm gonna make sure you pay for it, Skeeter."

"Stop calling her that." Mary Jane had no idea what it meant, but it was clear from the blonde's tone it wasn't a compliment.

**_'We could kill her here.'_**

_'...Too many witnesses.'_

_**'Killjoy.'**_

"Why are you playing the white knight, Watson? What, your friends ditch you and now you're trying to find new ones?"

"You-"

"Ladies, please."

Both their heads snapped to the source of the voice. A well dressed old man looked at them with a lax smile. It took her a few seconds to recognize him - Roderick Kingsley, the entire reason they were even here in the first place. His eyes were slightly narrowed as he watched them both with obvious amusement. A few of the other women in the crowd whispered among one another.

"I know this is the modeling scene, but it's a bit early to start the rivalries."

"She-"

"I'm well aware, Ms. Watson. We have security cameras for a reason." He gestured to said cameras on the walls, "And I agree with you; Ms. Avril is clearly the one at fault here. I think it's fair that she apologizes before we start, right?"

"No way in-"

"Of course, she could refuse and find herself escorted out. I do _so_ hate rude people, after all. It's the one thing I can't abide."

Watching Avril gape like a fish made her feel better than she had in days. Gritting her teeth, the blonde turned to Mary with a look that could kill and said, "I'm sorry for bumping into you..." She couldn't have sounded more insincere if she tried.

"A little lacking, but that's to be expected." Mr. Kingsley sighed theatrically and shooed her away, "Now, go get ready. It's last name first and you're first. We'll have you changed into your attire quickly."

Avril trudged back to the changing room while Mary Jane comforted Mary, "Come on." She put an arm around the practically crying girl's shoulder and walked her gently back to Marsha. The brunette had a look of guilt she didn't even try to hide. Mary Jane didn't blame her; the entire thing was a clusterfuck and her rushing in would've just made it worse.

"I-I'll go find a spare shirt." Marsha rushed out, leaving the two of them alone.

It was quiet for a minute till Mary finally stopped sniffling, "Th-Thanks..."

"No problem. She's a bitch." Her and King were the worst things Midtown High crapped out. The fact that no one knew how much they had a hand in driving Peter to what he did made her blood boil, "I'm guessing this isn't your first run-in with her."

"No. She...She makes my life hell whenever she runs into me at campus." Mary pursed her lips, "She calls me Skeeter...it means mosquito." Mary Jane's hands clenched tightly, "I don't get it! I never did anything to her, so why is she..."

"She's a bitch who does it because she can. That's it."

**_'Maybe we should go after her next.'_**

_'She hasn't actually killed anyone, Crimson.'_

**_'So?'_**

Marsha returned with a spare shirt and they all waited for their turns. Mary Jane was one of the last - thank you, Watson name - and by the time she was walking on the runway and spinning around any and all nervousness was replaced by a burning frustration at the fact that she couldn't do more. Avril would make Mary's life hell after this, she knew it. People like her hated not getting the last word in.

The actual walking and posing was easy. The heels they gave her were compensated by her better balance and she managed to look halfway confident when she got to the end of the runway. There were three 'judges' gauging everything: the agent who recruited them (who she'd later find out was Kingsley's brother), Kingsley himself, and a gaunt man with frizzy brown hair that looked more like he belonged in a mad science lab than a fashion shoot.

She had to admit, the way the last guy looked at her creeped her the hell out. It would've been one thing if he was leering; that would've been expected. Instead he looked at her like she was some kind of test subject.

They all got their money (and a little extra, cause Kingsley was in a good mood) and began milling out. Mary Jane exchanged contacts with Mary and Marsha and hung around till almost everyone was gone.

"Mr. Kingsley?" she asked as soon as he was separated from the other.

"Hmm? Oh, what is it, Ms. Watson?"

"I...I have a question."

"Yes, I assumed as much." He chuckled, "Is it about the results? Cause like I said we'd call you back as soon as-"

"No, that's not it." Mary Jane shook her head softly, "I just...how did your brother pick who to come?"

"You're asking why he picked the so-called ugly duckling." He smirked at her defensive refusal, "It's quite alright, I get those kinds of questions all the time. Let me see...Ms. Watson, have you been to fashion shows before?"

"Uh, no, not really. Not my thing."

"Of course. Well, have you been on stage at all?"

"I've been in a band before, does that count? Lead singer and song writer."

"Yes, more than you think!" He clapped his hands excitedly, "You mentioned singing and writing the songs. Tell me, you're beautiful young woman. How would you feel if people came to your concerts purely because of your appearance?"

"I...guess I wouldn't feel good?"

"Indeed. I pride myself in my designs. I started up from nothing and had to earn everything I had, unlike those such as Osborn and Stark who had legacy on their side. When I make these designs I wish for people to see them beauty and work that came into them rather than, to put it bluntly, taking pictures for their next raunchy fantasies."

"So...that's why you don't just go for people like Avril."

"Indeed. I do so despise those who came to fortune without earning it. I'll have to talk to Daniel about his standards next time." He looked at his watch and frowned, "Apologies, but I have a meeting. I'll give you the results in a few days time."

"Sure..." She said goodbye and looked down at her envelope full of bills. Time to bail her dad out.

* * *

Pregnant. Gwen was pregnant.

That was the only thing Peter could think off as Professor Miles Warren rattled off about genetics and inheritance. At any other day he would've been excited or rattling off questions about the research studies, but right now all he could think about was the fact that Gwen - technically the kid attached to her, but still - was honest to god _pregnant_.

The talk about genetic inheritance wasn't helping. At all.

It wasn't his kid. Webster (still felt dumb calling it that) made it clear that the new blob coming out came from asexual reproduction. Scientifically speaking it panned out. Many organisms like jellyfish and certain sub-species of worms created new life without any sort of sexual intercourse, so why couldn't a symbiote? It was normal...well, about as normal as it could be all things considered.

"Ben?" He was jolted out of his reverie at the sudden voice. He looked to the right and found Gwen - his girlfriend who also happened to be carrying a _baby_ \- looking at him worriedly. The hood and wig kept most of his face hidden, at least, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just peachy..."

Gwen frowned and looked down at her notes. Peter had been quiet ever since the last night. Not that she could blame him - she wasn't exactly cool as a cucumber right now either - but it still made her anxious. How did he think she felt? Just a day ago everything was 'normal' and now she was carrying around mama's first symbiote in...wherever the hell it was.

Webster was quick to re-assure her. _It won't change anything_, she said, _we're still capable of heroism_. What she meant by that was that the baby was a part of them till it was born so unless they died, at which point they'd have bigger things to worry about, they'd be just fine. There also wouldn't be any bloated stomachs or morning sickness, so that was a plus.

Still, she couldn't help but be worried. She'd heard horror stories of abused wives or young junkies who miscarried for one reason or another and she did _not _want to be added to that list.

Despite his distracted state, Peter did take notes. Gwen gave him a sideways smile when she glanced down at his notebook and saw the scattered notes on the page. Even back in high school asking him for notes was a crapshoot since no one but him could read it most of the. Peter distractedly circled 'Purpose Guided Evolution' and began to scribble more add-ons under it.

Peter didn't answer any of the questions and he didn't ask any. It was for the best. While Prof Warren was nice enough to not ask for ID they didn't want to draw any attention to him. Yes he looked different with the dyed hair, stubble and wig, but the last thing they needed was someone recognizing Spider-Man and causing a scene. Thankfully the prof bought her excuse about Peter being a shy wallflower.

An hour passed and class soon ended with a reminder that there'd be a test on Wednesday. Everyone packed up their things and made the slow trudge outside either for another class or a well-deserved break. Gwen grabbed Peter's wrist as soon as he stood, "Let's stay behind."

"Why?" He looked down at her with suspicion. Rude.

"Cause I know you wanna ask Prof Warren about that science-y stuff." She smirked up at him.

He didn't argue. When everyone else left for class she had to practically drag him to the sole other occupant of the room, "Hey, Professor?" He looked up from the projector with a friendly smile.

"Ah, Ms. Stacy. I assume this is the friend you were talking about?" He looked to Peter with the same smile.

"Yeah, Ben Reilly." She nudged Peter forward not so gently (he was being stubborn), "He actually wanted to talk to you about your lecture, if it's not too much trouble?"

"Never trouble to talk with someone who wants to learn." Gwen had no idea how he hasn't been beaten down by the college apathy just yet, but she wasn't complaining, "Was there anything you were confused about or needed clarification on?"

"Ah...no, nothing like that." Wow, he was really playing up the wallflower cover story. She hid her smile behind her hands as he opened up his notebook, "I just wanted to talk to you about your research. You mentioned something about Merriam's views and how they were too progressionist?"

"Oh, yes, that's gotten me some arguments from a few of my peers. You see..."

Gwen hung back and tuned them out. Peter shed whatever shyness he had as he and Prof Warren pored over each other's notes. She didn't want to say anything, but it reminded her of high school when he talked to Dr. Connors about his research. It was one of the few times he enjoyed actually coming to school and made him forget how some of the other students made his life hell.

**'Don't think about it, Gwen.'**

_'Yeah, I know...'_

Before she knew it almost thirty minutes passed. The only reason they stopped was cause Prof Warren got a text, "Damn, I didn't realize how much time we've spent." He called the person back, "Monica? Yes, I'm sorry I was discussing something in class. Oh, don't worry I can still make it. Tell Jane and Colton I'll be there, don't worry. Sorry again!"

"The wife calling, prof?" Gwen asked lightly.

"Yes. I've been so busy with work we haven't spent much time lately as a family. I was looking forward to it." He smiled fondly at the phone before pocketing it, "I'm sorry we have to cut our talk short."

"Sorry for distracting you," Peter said.

"Oh, not at all. It's my fault for being so engrossed into my research." He waved a hand lightly, "Still, Ms. Stacy was correct about your aptitude, Mr. Reilly. She mentioned you might be planning to attend ESU?"

"I...I'm still thinking about it." Gwen's smile widened. It wasn't a _no_, which was better than what she got last time, "Gwen said you do two sit-ins, right?"

"Yes. University policy; wouldn't want to give lessons for free. If you do attend this school then I hope you'll consider my class. It's rare to find young people so interested in the field of genetics and evolution. I'm afraid many of my students consider my class a bit of a sleep-through course."

"Their loss." He picked up his notebook again, "I'll...see you later, Professor. I'll think about your theories on gene manipulation and give my thoughts on it."

"I look forward to it."

They left the classroom a little lighter in step. Gwen led him to the Bean and ordered the usual from Eugene plus black coffee (ick) for Peter, **'Gwen, we should get chocolate. The baby needs it.'**

_'No, it really doesn't. And I don't want Webster Jr. being a diabetic like her mom.'_

**'But-'**

_'Hush. I already got you that good imported stuff this morning.' _

They sat across one another on the table, both nursing their drinks. She hated to admit it, but Peter kinda looked like an emo dweeb with that wig and hood on. The peeks of the tattoo on his left wrist didn't help at all.

"You looked like you had fun," Gwen said eventually.

"Huh? Oh...yeah." He smiled after a few seconds' hesitation, "The last memories of classes I have are from high school. College is...different."

"Yeah, well, most people kinda get it into their skulls that this is make or break and the more classes you fail the more student loans pile up." That and bullies who relied on getting others to do their work for them didn't make it far here. Probably the reason why she hadn't seen King at all; he was the perfect combination of a dumb jackass, "That and no one paid attention to, just like I said."

"You were right there..." He looked down at his cup of steaming coffee briefly, "So...about your new tagalong?"

"Y-yeah?" she asked nervously.

"You don't seem that worried, is all."

"Oh, trust me, I'm freaking the hell out on the inside." Webster made her belly warm again, "It's just...I can't see what I can do besides just toughing it out. Webster's given me so much and I think this is a way to pay her back." She grinned.

"Still...pregnant?"

"Says the guy who came back from the dead twice and doesn't think it's a big deal?"

"...Point."

"Besides, at least this way Helena won't be lonely." Would Webster Jr. count as a brother/sister or an uncle/aunt? Gah, this was complicated.

"I still can't believe you gave her that damn doll..." He actually _scowled_ at that. Drama queen.

"It was love at first sight."

His no doubt savage response was cut off when Glory and Betty came with MJ in tow. The slight make-up on the redhead's face made Gwen stare. MJ'd always preferred to go au naturel so seeing even the red lipstick looked odd.

Thankfully she'd already ordered ahead for them, "Hey, Dark Spider." Betty grinned as she sat next to him. Peter grunted in annoyance.

"Long time no see," Glory added.

"Yeah." He took a sip of his coffee and looked to MJ, "Done with your modelling gig?"

"Yep, just gotta wait for the results." She played with her straw idly. A telltale sign that she was annoyed.

"What's wrong?" Glory asked.

"I ran into Avril." They all (sans Peter) shared mutual grimaces, "She was starting shit up with this poor girl in the audition room. Honestly, if she actually makes it past the audition I might just quit even if I pass. Don't wanna deal with her whining."

"Point," Betty said, "Still, a model, huh? Our little MJ's finally making her debut."

"Please, we did that when Gwencent fought Rhino dude." Gwen never felt more thankful than today on just how self-centered most college students were. Most people were too busy to overhear them and those that did...well, they'd just think they were rambling about stupid stuff."

Still, why the sudden interest? I didn't take you for someone into the fashion game," Glory said.

"I have my reasons." She shrugged and then, apropos of nothing, suddenly added, "So you guys wanna get together for band practice?"

Gwen blinked, wondering if she'd heard her right, "Um...what? What about your...you know?"

"I think I might have a solution for that." She shared a brief look with Peter and smiled. Right...she was just gonna ignore _that_, "Let's try it. You guys are free on Friday afternoon, right? Let's see if we can get back into the beat."

"Ugh, puns." Glory rolled her eyes.

"Well, it wouldn't be too bad to see if we still got the swing of things." Gwen grinned.

"You two are absolute dorks and I hate for it." Glory laughed under her breath.

Peter, who up until then had remained quiet, suddenly muttered, "I have to go." Her eyebrows furrowed; she knew that tone. He pocketed his phone and stood, "I'll see you later."

"Wait, what was that?"

"Ah...work."

"...Murdock?"

"Page." So, basically Murdock. Gwen stood and he put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head, "I'm coming with you."

"I'd rather do this alone."

"No fucking way." Glory, Betty and Mary Jane stared at the two of them awkwardly, "I don't care if he says he's 'seen the light', I don't trust that asshole"

"I don't trust him either, but I have to play ball if I want to deal with Page. So if don't trust him then trust me. I'm not going to let him turn me around."

She wanted to say more, but she didn't want to scream and draw attention to them. She remembered how that bastard broke him, remembered cradling his body in her arms for the second time in her life because he didn't like the idea of someone taking away his 'toy'. She hated Murdock and nothing could ever change that. Why didn't he see that?"

"But..."

"Cindy's already there anyway." Gwen blinked. _That_ wasn't what she expected to hear, "Trust me, I'll see you later, okay?"

"...Okay." She nodded dumbly and sat as Peter rounded the corner out of sight.

* * *

Pregnant. Gwen was pregnant.

Or at least that was what the text she'd gotten from Peter the night prior said. It was only now when she was sitting on the limousine(!) that she bothered to check her phone. She'd been too busy watching the trial beforehand and honestly she was wondering if Peter finally managed to get drunk cause it didn't make sense. Still, that trial...

It was definitely something. There was Matt Murdock, the former Kingpin of Crime and all around general drillbit, airing out a thousand metric tons worth of dirty laundry. Corrupt politicians, bought off police chiefs, deals with foreign crime syndiates - you name it, Murdock confessed to it. He went into excruciating detail and provided every hint of recorded video, contracts, bank accounts and anything else the judge asked.

And he did all of that with a smile and a broken arm that everyone assumed came from criminals trying to discourage him. Of course.

It took hours just to get through the entire confession, and even then it'd probably take weeks to actually make any headway on it. Still, it was enough to cause a shitstorm. Heads were gonna roll for this, or so De Wolfe said; especially since one of the indicted people was Police Chief Pratchett who was already screaming up and down that he was being framed. Nevermind the video blackmail presented that showed him agreeing to murder a police officer in exchange for a favor owed.

It was just her, Karen Page and Murdock in the car. Page sat to her left a fair distance away poring through files while Murdock just hummed an oddly familiar tune with a smile on his face as he read a (non-braille) book by sliding his fingers across the page. The rest of the guards were ahead and behind them in blacked out cars. Anvil Security was their name. Apparently they were well-recommended.

"So, when is Ms. Hardy planning to kill me?" Cindy looked up to meet Murdock's shaded eyes and (somehow) managed to keep her face neutral, "I must admit, the suspense is killing me, pardon the pun."

"I dunno what you're talking about."

"Yes, and I'm sure she's also not planning to follow us back to my home." He snapped the book shut, "Come now, we're all intelligent adults here, so there's no need to play dumb. Besides, you didn't think it was a coincidence that you of all people were tasked with ensuring my safety, right?"

Cindy's eyes narrowed, "You planned for this."

"Well, technically _I_ didn't. Karen is my jailer, after all." The blonde still hadn't looked up from her files at all. Cindy almost wanted to slap her in frustration, "I wanted to meet with Ms. Hardy as soon as possible. Her and Peter are the people I've...wrong the most in the past year." Did he actually sound guilty or was that just her imagination? "I wanted to to the same for Mr. Castle, but he hasn't arrived yet."

"What are you planning?"

"He wishes to make amends." Karen said softly, finally facing them. There was something indescribable in her somber expression, "He wishes to give Ms. Hardy the same choice Mr. Parker was given a few nights prior."

"And that is?"

"If I deserve to live just a little longer." He laughed under his breath, "Karen and Stick believe that I can still be of some use, and in that sense I can't kill myself since that would disappoint them. Ms. Hardy and Mr. Parker, however, are not under this limitation. Karen can't physically stop them from interfering, you see. That breaks all sorts of rules."

"So...what, you're trying to commit death by vigilante?"

"Not particularly. If I die then I die, if I don't then I keep going as a lapdog till I die later. Either way my soul goes to the inferno and justice is served for all my sins." He said it so casually, like he was talking about the weather or his favorite food, "You could kill me as well, if you prefer, though I'm afraid you won't get much catharsis from it. Ms Moon was always your enemy more than I was."

"Yeah..."

Well..._this_ wasn't how she expected this to go. Cindy fingered the gun on her thigh holster. He was right; it would've been so easy to just draw her gun and shoot him right him in the head. She could swing away before the security could catch her and meet Felicia for that favor. She'd be mad she couldn't pull the trigger herself, but Murdock would be dead either way.

"We're here."

Cindy blinked and almost missed Page and Murdock stepping out of the car. Cindy followed after them and a few hired gunmen following behind. The building in front of them was a fancy apartment building that looked like it belonged in Dubai, "My old abode. I would've preferred something more humble, but an apartment in Queens is far too easy to break into."

"I wasn't asking."

She got into the elevator with Murdock and Page while the security guards stayed downstairs, "Wouldn't want to get them tangled into Ms. Hardy's vendetta," Murdock said as soon as the door closed.

The place was just as fancy on the outside as in. Cindy looked around the place and frowned. This place made hers look like a cheap motel, "Make yourself at home, Ms. Moon. The fridge is fully stocked if you're feeling peckish." He casually gestured to the kitchen. It didn't take long for Cindy to notice the security cameras that covered every room, "Oh, and don't mind those. They're meant to ensure I don't get up to anything."

"Right..." This was surreal. Cindy walked almost absentmindedly to the kitchen and saw a glass of red wine sitting innocently on the table, "...Might as well." She opened it up and poured herself something on a glass.

"Peruvian red? I didn't take you for a wine drinker." Karen Page said behind her. Cindy gave her a one-armed shrug, "Pour me a glass?"

"...Sure."

She poured the older woman a generous portion of the crimson drink and they clinked their bottles together. Cindy swallowed the entire glass in one gulp and coughed softly. Yeah, she was definitely more of a beer person, but alcohol was alcohol. Hey, at least she wasn't smoking down nicotine like Peter was. _That_ was terrible.

"He's frustrating to deal with sometimes." Page gestured to Murdock with her free hand as he sat in the living room reading again.

"You know he deserves to die, right?" Cindy raised a brow.

"Yes, and I'm sure no one knows that more than Matthrew himself." She took a small sip, "Still, he can do good. Matthew is a lot of things, but more than anything he's effective. I understand you're going through troubles of your own. Perhaps he can aid you there."

"Uh...how about no and go screw yourself?" Maybe talking smack to the D.A wasn't a good idea, but to hell with it this entire thing was insane enough as it is.

The cameras cut out. Cindy's spin-sense tingled by just the smallest amount before she heard a crash from the next room, "That must be Ms. Hardy." Karen sighed like a long suffering school teacher and set her drink down, "Come on, we should see how this ends."

It wasn't very exciting. Felicia had cut through the ceiling window and attacked Murdock before he could put up a fight. Not that he would have. Felicia let go of any sense of finesse as soon as she saw him and immediately just let all her anger out, screaming and crying as she punched, kicked and threw Murdock all across his apartment like he was a ragdoll.

He didn't fight back.

"_Putain de fils de pute!" _Felicia kicked him right in his injured arm and he stumbled back with a soft hiss of pain. She continued her assault by grabbing his collar and tossing him across his living room table, spilling the fancy baubles to the floor as he crashed through it.

Murdock coughed and sat up slightly, "_C'est un long temps à venir._" He smiled up at her. Somehow her expression managed to turn even more murderous and she kicked him right in the jaw.

The sound of the impact made Cindy wince. Murdock was pushed to the ground from the force of the blow and Felicia followed up with another painful kick to his side that left him face down on carpet coughing up blood. Despite everything Cindy felt a smidge of pity for him, though she had no idea why. It wasn't like he didn't deserve worse, especially after everything he'd done.

Felicia panted and clenched her fists, "...Why aren't you fighting back?!" she screamed.

Murdock just laughed, "Do you want me to?"

Felicia uncurled her whip and wrapped the harsh leather around his neck. It was tight enough to choke him and again Cindy winced when she used the whip to force him to face her. He looked pathetic: his hair was a mess, there was blood around his mouth and his glasses were gone, which exposed his dull gray eyes. There was nothing demonic in them like she expected.

Murdock kept smiling.

Felicia growled and tightened the whip till it was practically a noose. Murdock's smile faltered by just the smallest amount and his hands fell to the floor. Cindy looked away. Despite everything, despite knowing that Murdock himself wanted this, she couldn't watch the execution. She tried her best to make killing cold and impersonal, even if she sometimes broke that rule.

And then, just when she thought it'd finish, Felicia suddenly let go. Murdock fell back, his breaths coming in and out raggedly, while Felicia stepped back. She still looked furious, "...Why aren't you fighting back?!" she screamed again. Murdock just kept looking up at the ceiling, "This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. You weren't supposed to just sit there and let me do this! Why are you just sitting there?!"

"Because I want to die." He sat up weakly and wiped the blood from his mouth as he looked up at Felicia, "You don't need to know the reasons, but let's just say death wouldn't be too unpleasant for me at this current moment. I either waste away and die slowly or you kill me quickly while receiving some much needed retribution. So come on then, let's finish this. Take your revenge."

Felicia clenched her right hand into a tight fish and punched him before turning around. She looked torn. Her revenge was right there in her fingertips, but if she did it she'd give Murdock exactly what he wanted. It was like if she'd found out her evil twin was dying of cancer and killing her would've been a mercy. It would've taken all the catharsis out of it.

"...Do you love your father, Ms. Hardy?" Page asked suddenly. All eyes were suddenly on her.

"What kind of question is that?" Felicia scoffed.

"What would you say if I told you that you could talk with him again?"

Felicia froze, her face fallen in disbelief, before the scowl returned, "What do you mean by that?"

"Exactly that." Karen stepped forward and, for the first time, Murdock's smile fell, "Bringing someone back from the dead is strictly forbidden, but I conversing with the departed is easier. Walter Hardy didn't do enough to damn himself to hell, so it's possible." Her smile was chilling, "I know you have regrets. Do you wish for the chance to speak the words you couldn't?"

"...You're-"

"Stay out of this, Karen!" Murdock's voice had lost its cool and he actually sounded enraged, "You said you wouldn't interfere!"

"Physically," she replied coolly, "I'm making her an offer, nothing more. A chance to talk to the father she never had the chance to say goodbye to. It's her choice if she wishes to accept."

"...And in exchange you want me to spare his life?"

"You already were when you realized this wasn't the revenge you had planned. Revenge and mercy don't often go hand in hand," Page hummed, "I'll let you decide on my offer, but for now I think we should leave. Matthew needs his rest, after all."

And just like that they all left, though not without Ms. Hardy glaring at him murderously. Matt chucked bitterly as he picked himself up and wiped more of the blood from his mouth. He should've known Karen would interfere. She and Stick, they dragged him kicking and screaming like a dog on a leash. He would've laughed if he didn't feel so torn about it.

"...I know you're there."

A moment of silence passed before Peter stepped out from the other room. He'd come in shortly after Ms. Hardy started her attack and she doubted any of them except Karen noticed, "Enjoy the show?" He put on his all too familiar smile and greeted him.

"...Thought she'd kill you," Peter said.

"Disappointed?"

"Doesn't matter to me; you're hellbound anyway." He laughed. Peter always had a knack for seeing the brighter side of things, "...Guessing Page called me here for a reason."

"Yes." He stood up and winced slightly. Ms. Hardy could pack a hell (heh) of a blow, "Stick found a hideout where Murakami might be converging. Considering he's the Hand's greatest fighter outside of rare phenomenons like the Black Sky it would be in our best interest to find him."

"Fine, give me the address. I got a score to settle with that bastard anyway."

"By yourself? I doubt it." Matt shook his head, "I'm coming with you."

"You'll just slow me down, especially with that arm of yours."

"Usually people say 'no offense' when they make statements like that." Matt smiled. Peter didn't, "Regardless, I can hold my own. Stick's teachings will allow me to function at a reasonably capacity and ignore my wounds." The only downside was the pain would return later multiplied, but he'd deal with it when it came. For the task at hand it'd be appropriate.

"Do what you want. Page just said I had to work with you; she didn't say anything about making sure you stayed alive."

"I didn't expect you to." Matt hummed and removed his hand from the cast. He was on a time limit now, "Come on, let's show the Handwhat Spider-Man and Daredevil can do."

* * *

**Looks like Matt's gonna stick around for a while longer. Sorry for anyone that wanted him gone. Anyway, next chapter will be Spider-Man and Daredevil vs The Hand :D After that, and assuming I have space, I can probably do a segment with Lana about dealing with Aracely and the people who are after her. Depends on how far the Hand segment goes.**

**Anyway, the finale of this chapter with Felicia felt kinda off. I tried to look at her actions in canon to gauge a motivation and came up with this: she wants revenge, but she also wants to fight for it. Note that she deliberately left a calling card to bait Murdock and let him prepare for her rather than just doing something like planting a bomb in his safe or shooting him with a sniper rifle like Ultimate Felicia planned. So Matt just accepting it royally turned her off from getting her planned revenge right then and there.**

**Questions:**

**1\. Light question: anyone have any suggestions for symbiote names? Unlike Peter who's too fucking lazy to name his pet, Gwen is a halfway decent parent. I can't use canon names since I doubt Gwen would really call the new symbiote Phage, Riot or Scream so I need something more in-character. Cause if we don't have any good suggestions she's gonna call it Chocolate.**

**2\. You know, I asked before if people would've liked it if I originally went for Peter/MJ instead of Peter/Gwen in V1, but what about if I went Gwen/MJ while Peter either ends up single or with someone else (except Lana, cause he's not touching that with a galactus sized pole)? GweMJ seems to have gotten really popular after Spider-Verse as well.**

**Answers:**

**Brave2000 - Looks like he came out of that alright.**

**SpiderGod766 - Lee Price is dead (he was the assassin sent after Fisk offscreen in V1) as for Eddie...no plans for him. Norah already fulfills his role as an anti-hero journo.**

**Raymond49090rc - I doubt George Stacy _wants _to bond with a symbiote, all things considered. Frog-Man or Gayle would be all for it but Peter and Gwen wouldn't trust them. It's a balancing act of trust and consent.**

**Roxasdualwielder - You can look them up in the Marvel wiki.**

**Deathtowaterbottles - He's too epic for the symbiote.**

**Noisy-Cricket - There's a sudden upsurge of Laura votes. As for Peter, he's _supposed _to be weak here since he makes up for it in other ways. The same way Gwen is extremely powerful and yet gets rung around like a chump by weaker but more intelligent villains. Anyway, I'll take your suggestions for JJ into account :)**

**Guest 1 - Immortality is rather unlikely. Long life, certainly, but actual immortality would be a harder sell. **

**Vitiate - Clearly the father is Dog with Venom having a love affair with Chocolate. And yeah, I took your advice for the JJ segment :)**

**Cha0s4ever - As mentioned, I doubt they're immortal, though I don't doubt they'll keep going far longer than normal. Note that not even Logan and X-23 are immortal, as futures like Old Man Logan show. Healing factor is prolonged aging, not halted. **

**Guest 2 - Mac Gargan isn't evil and I have no plans for Eddie. **

**SnuffleTruff - I didn't, actually, since I'm not reading mainline Spidey currently. Gimme a heads up if he gets the respect he deserves.**

**Guest 3 - Yikes, another Laura vote. Guess people want a Smol murder machine.**


	8. Spider-Devil

**I know I said I'd do Frog-Man (true hero), but I was actually kinda excited for this chapter. It's a bit shorter than usual, but since this is an actual plot and fighting chapter I excused myself. I know some people are going to be _pissed _at the end of this chapter, so I'm already bracing myself. Well, either that or people get really hyped. Could go either way. ****I'll be updating Two Spiders on a Web after this so we can have a bit of a break.**

**Anyway, I read the latest Spider-Gwen and one of the comments people - myself included - had is that Gwen/Harry has absolutely zero chemistry. I'm hoping the pairings in this story don't fall under the same trap. Given this I should probably downplay the romantic gushy moments and make them rarer so it doesn't feel forced or stale.**

**Next plot chapter will be focusing on Lana primarily. That and Gwen telling her dad and Jess about her new tagalong. Cue George Stacy going for his gun cabinet and inviting Peter over for dinner. **

**So the majority votes for the symbiote's name are either Chocolate (I seriously just suggested that as a joke) or Charlie, which is just another way to say chocolate. Laura's also the prime vote for the host, which might make things...difficult. ****Incidentally, I love how many are into the idea just cause it makes Cindy suffer. Guess that 'Cindy is Laura's mom' plot took off way more than I intended. **

**Side Note - When I asked about GweMJ last chapter I did _not _mean I would break up Peter/Gwen now. I meant that I wondered if people would've preferred that as the pairing in V1 all those months ago vs the Peter/Gwen pair we got. I have no break-up plans.**

**Adding to that, I've gotten at least a couple of reviews for Matt/MJ. That...came out of nowhere. Is it cause they're both redheads who were possessed by monsters? Cause something tells me Gwen would FREAK OUT if MJ ever went for it. **

* * *

"This is the place?"

The nondescript office building he and Matt stood in front of was hardly something that looked like it belonged to someone as vaunted as the Hand, but he knew that beggars couldn't be choosers. With the Beast dead and a lot of their assets totaled thanks to him and Moon Knight's (and Rand's, according Spector) efforts across the past year, an office building was all they could really afford.

"Yes. Not as cavalier as my previous evil lair, isn't it?" Whatever cry for redemption he had, that damn smile never changed. He looked like a shark who smelled blood in the water. The devil costume didn't help, "After you killed Alexandra, they lost a lot of their funding."

"Probably shouldn't have left all their money on a woman who had an ego bigger than that Skrull ship." He supposed it was inevitable. After you lived for so long you either got so paranoid about every little thing or you thought you were invincible. Alexandra and Sowande were the latter while Bakuto and Gao were the former. Always hiding behind their lies and proxy soldiers the same way Matt did a year ago. Except for them it was because they were afraid.

And then there was Murakami.

He'd only faced the (very) elderly Japanese man once, back when he'd escaped that Hand dungeon, but he'd never forget him. Crusty old bastard was as tough as leather with a face to match. He didn't care about the thought of dying. Not because he was confident; he just didn't care if it could happen.

Peter took another slow breath from his cigarette - which Gwen was not so subtly nudging him to quit... - and looked up at the building. He knew from experience that Murakami was a brute, obsessed with honor and with a bizarre sense of fair play. Long as he responded in kind Murakami was predictable and, best of all, focused on him and him alone. He knew for a fact that Sowande, Bakuto and Gao weren't nearly as easy.

Speaking of.

"Not going armed?" Murdock asked as soon as he pulled out both pistols and unloaded them. He removed the bullets from the chambers and Murdock smiled, "Ms. Stacy's not watching, you know?"

"We want to kill Murakami, right?" He put the pistols and magazines back into his jacket and began unloading his bracers, "He won't run, not if he thinks he can get a fair fight out of this. No need to sneak around when we can go through the front door and get what we want." Besides, he probably warded the building so he couldn't go invisible. It wouldn't have been the first time.

Thankfully the two of them were alone. Despite the sun just barely setting the entire street was empty save a few parked cars. Last thing he wanted was to draw attention or have anyone take a picture of Spider-Man working along with the Devil of Hell's Kitchen, "Sure you can fight?" He emptied the last magazine from the bracer and put it in his pocket.

"Worried for me?"

"Answer the question before I break your other arm."

Murdock laughed. The fact that only his jaw was exposed made it more unnerving than it should have been, "Yes, I should be able to." He moved his right arm experimentally, "Ms. Stacy broke the bone, but Stick's teachings allow me to keep it mended for the time being. I'll face the consequences of that soon enough." Peter didn't ask. He didn't care.

"Right. Let's go."

The lobby was brightly lit, spacious and looked like no one had been there since it was made. The chairs and tables were meticulously cleaned and the front desk had no one manning it. Peter made his way towards it with Matt right next to him and picked up the logbook, "Hmm, rather rude of them," Matt said airily, "I expected that there'd be a bit of a welcoming party."

"You're in the wrong place if you're expecting champagne." He picked up the logbook and the pen. If Murakami had his way they it would've just been the two of them in an empty room with no distractions. Again, he liked that about him; guy was stubborn as an ox and had a temper to match.

He wrote their names down - Daredevil (dumb name) and Spider-Man - and raised the page to one of the security cameras on the wall. The message was clear: _Come and get us._

Matt raised his head and smiled wryly, "Well, that did it. You kicked the hornet's nest now."

"You can always turn back."

"And miss spending time with you? Not for anything."

Peter dismissed him with a rude gesture and turned to the elevator at the end of the lobby, "Get ready." He cracked his knuckles and lowered himself into a fighting stance while Matt unsheathed his billy clubs.

*Ding*

They were out immediately and with no warning. Murakami was a hermit who didn't like to get involved in the politics, but he wasn't like the rest of the Fingers: his men were disposable, yes, but that didn't mean they were just bodies to throw into the grinder like it was with Matt, Sowande and Gao. Meaning they'd have a fight on their hands.

Half a dozen men and women in suits strolled out of the elevator. The first two, both men, led the pack, one of them holding a sword and the other wielding a baton. No firearms, as expected; Murakami thought it made them weak and reliant, "Huh, guessing the boss is upstairs?" None of them said a word. He'd take that as a yes, "Guessing you stooges are the welcoming party, right? Fine, let's go."

He waited for them to make the first move. The man with the baton charged forward and Peter dodged his blow, grabbed his arm and twisted. The man didn't scream even as Peter twisted his arm behind his back and slammed him to the ground hard enough to knock him out.

The rest were on them already. Matt threw one of his billy clubs and hit a woman wielding a nightstick right in her throat, causing her to crumple to the ground. He dodged the slash from the one with the sword and kneed him in the gut, "These are Murakami's best trained?" His smile was wide and could generously be described as crazed. He was enjoying this.

"Focus." Peter grabbed another one of the goons and headbutted her. Blood gushed out of the broken nose and stained the dark fabric of his mask. The woman was barely on the ground before the elevator dinged again and more goons walked out. Murakami must've been using them as a hazing. Anyone who didn't last or survive clearly wasn't worthy of the Hand.

Matt punched another one in the jaw and he crumpled like a stuffed sack, "Heh, this is fun." Peter rolled his eyes as they were forced back to back with the goons surrounding them. This reminded far too much of that time back when Jack and his mad followers went on a rampage. Except this time there wouldn't be a weedy arms dealer at the end of it.

Matt ducked when a man with a knife charged at him. Peter turned around and kicked the guy straight in the chest while Matt took his previous place and tripped another man with a baton before stomping on his face, "Just like told times." Peter scowled. He talked like they were friends or something,

"Shut up." He yanked the closest one with a net of webbing and headbutted him before taking his baton. It wasn't his preference, but he'd make do, "Come on."

Three of them charged at him. Peter lowered into a sudden crouch and Matt rolled across his back to kick the closest one across the face while he webbed the remaining two with both hands and tripped them to the ground. Matt smacked them both in the heads hard, "We work well together." Peter didn't say anything and turned around just in time to kick out a goon trying to slice his neck clean off.

He hated to admit it, but Matt was a...decent partner. It wasn't a surprise. He only had a month, but Peter did train with Stick while Matt was being raised as Stick's own personal child soldier. They fought similarly, even if he hated the thought of the two of them being similar in any way.

Peter leaned back to avoid the knife and it just barely cut through the cheek of his mask. He quickly adjusted himself smacked the woman's gut with the tip of the baton before following up with a strike to her face, "Tch." He raised a hand to his right cheek quickly and frowned at the blood on his fingers. If Stick were here he'd beat him black and blue for getting distracted.

"He certainly would." Peter dropped the baton and let Matt deal with the last goon. Counting all the men and the backup that was over a dozen men easily, and he wasn't naive enough to think that was the end of it. This was the welcoming party Matt was expecting, "Guessing you're on the top floor?" He asked to the security camera. No response, "You better not run. I'm playing by your rules, after all."

He called the elevator back down and Matt walked beside him. He looked none the worse for wear apart from a rapidly forming bruise on the right side of his mouth and blood on his knuckles. His smile was still there, "Hmm, it's nice fighting something more than an opportunistic rapist." Peter didn't say anything and pressed the button again. Now Murakami was just taunting him, "Wouldn't you agree?"

"Shut up."

Matt sighed, "You know we don't have to be enemies."

The elevator doors opened, "Doesn't mean we have to be friends either." He looked back, "Come on, unless you wanna take the stairs."

"I was going to so we wouldn't have to be confined to small space, but if you insist." Matt grinned and strolled inside before Peter could shut the door in his face. Damn it. Sighing himself, Peter pressed the button to the top floor.

It was mercifully quiet for a few seconds, though of course it didn't last, "What do you plan to do after this?" Peter didn't say anything, "I mean, you can't just be Spider-Man 24/7, hm? Without the Hand I daresay you might actually have time to be Peter Parker, especially given Ms. Wilson's Initiative program. No need to run yourself ragged solving ill and woe of this city."

Again, he said nothing.

"Well, assuming I survive this little war Karen wants me to go back to being a lawyer. Pro bono work, of course, just helping little old ladies who got scammed by the big bad conglomerates or helping a crippled child sue the bank for everything because a disability means people sympathize." He tapped his covered eyeholes, "Me being a so-called helpless blind man really sold the 'innocent possessed by the Devil' angle'."

"What makes you think you'll even survive this?"

"Perhaps I'm optimistic." He shrugged lightly, "And if I don't...well, we all have to get our ticket punched eventually. I will admit that a part of me wants to end it because the anxiety keeps me up at night. You know the feeling: you worry so much on what _could_ be that a part of you just wants to get it over with. Even the worst of Hell's torments pale to some of the nightmares I've had thinking on it."

"...I think you're underestimating it." Peter scoffed.

Matt laughed, "Perhaps, but keeping an optimistic mind helps with the day to day." He hummed, "...Do you ever think about it? What comes after, I mean?"

He should've kept quiet, but the damn elevator was making him stir crazy, "Not really." It wasn't a whole lie. He did think about times, though now he'd made his peace with it. Gwen and a few others like Cindy were definitely heading to the choir invisible upstairs, but as for him and everyone else...well, guess they'd have to flip a coin for that. Page'd probably dangle it over their heads at some point.

"In control as always. It's no wonder I fell in love with you."

His spider-sense didn't blare. Peter didn't say anything and just waited for the final floors to tick down. He was sure that if Gwen were here she would've had a meltdown, so probably best if he didn't mention it. He could tell it took everything she had not to follow him to Matt's place; finding out about this would mean she'd never stop hovering over his shoulder. Justifiably so, but still.

Matt smirked and put a hand under Peter's jaw and turned his head to his. They were scant inches from each other now, "You know, in many situations silence is treated as consent." Matt's expression showed off his teeth.

Peter grabbed his wrist and snarled, "How's a broken jaw treated?"

"Much less positively." He chuckled and titled his head just before the elevator suddenly stopped a few floors from the top. Peter let go of him, "Well, looks like we have one more gauntlet to run. Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

This time he didn't wait for them. As soon as the doors were opened he charged out and tackled the closest goon to the wall with a sickening crack. Another goon rushed to his back back Matt threw a billy club to the side of his head.

He could hear them all, crowded around the rooms. Peter sneered, grabbed the goon from the wall and tossed him through the door. The wooden doors practically fell off their hinges as the goon flew through the air and crashed through a nearby table. A few of the stooges actually turned to look in shock at their compatriot's state, which gave him just enough time to press the attack.

He didn't kill any of them and neither did Matt, but that didn't mean they were going to go easy on them. Peter hit them hard and fast, blood, teeth and spit flying out with every blow. Matt was the same, breaking their bones and leaving them crumpled in the floor with whatever he could get his hands on. At one point he even stabbed a stooge through the palm with a boxcutter after smashing him against the wall.

It was disturbing just how familiar it all was. He definitely saw Stick's training, but in many ways Matt reminded him of Bullseye and Moon Knight: crazed and clearly enjoying the pain he gave and take. All throughout he never stopped smiling and sometimes he laughed even when a knife nearly chipped through the armor and pierced his stomach.

_"Because I want to die."_

Good thing Peter didn't care about him.

Peter finished off the last goon and let him fall to the floor. This time he managed without a scratch, "Planning to tire me out?" he asked aloud. He kicked one of the groaning mooks and nudged his head to Matt, "Come on, I'm getting tired of this."

The two of them made their way up using the stairs. Peter ducked to avoid the sword as soon as he opened the door and Matt threw another club hard enough to break the bastard's nose. Peter grabbed him by the collar just long enough for the man's eyes to widen before he threw him down the stairs where he fell with multiple painful cracks.

"...That was cruel."

"Cry me a river."

The top floor was devoid of all life. Peter opened the door and raised a brow when he saw that empty, brightly lit hall, "Guess he's done stalling." He kicked the door open and strode inside. The hallway went two ways: straight ahead to a large room and to the left to who only knew where. Murakami would've been at the room; all the better for his fight.

"I guess this is where we split ways." Matt hummed, "You deal with Murakami and I'll check in on the rest of the rooms. Perhaps we'll find something useful on the other Fingers."

"Do what you want."

"Telling me you want me to be careful would be nice."

"So would you jumping off the building. Wanna trade?"

He chuckled and left, leaving Peter to trudge the length of the hallway alone. Despite the dozens of men they fought through below he couldn't help but feel a slight weight in his stomach. He didn't like to think about it, but he'd only been alive for a scant 19 years; nothing compared to the centuries of the Fingers. He'd brushed against death so many times now and he wasn't even old enough to drink.

He opened the door.

The room was large and completely empty save for its sole occupant. Murakami knelt on the floor with his back facing him, his head bowed and his breathing level with a small ninjato at his side. An amateur would've thought that he was sloppy, careless. Peter knew the truth: a normal man had no chance of landing a single hit on him.

"Hey. Been a while."

"_Ore no buka wa shippai shimashita._" Peter smiled wryly. Murakami's voice was as rough as gravel and his slow words added a menace to it that couldn't be denied, "_Anata wa hitori de konakatta._"

"Don't worry, Matt's not gonna interrupt us."

"_Yoi._"

The older man stood and turned to face him. Murakami wasn't young despite his so-called immortality - his face was tanned and rough like leather and the wrinkles around showed a man who'd survived many years against other people's attempts otherwise. Despite that he was anything but feeble; even under his coat and shirt it was obvious he had the body of a fighter and what little skin that wasn't covered showed peeks of ornate tattoos.

Stick had said once that Murakami looked more like he belonged in the Yakuza or Triads than something like the Hand. Peter agreed, though that was hardly a bad thing. Like he said, the bastard was predictable.

_"Bokutachi no saigonotatakai wa mikan no mamadeshita."_

"Yeah, well, I wasn't at my best." Peter shut the door behind him as Murakami took off his coat and shirt, exposing the tattooed body underneath. That was how fought - no armor, no tricks, and no help. If he couldn't survive on his own then he didn't deserve to, simple as that. How old bastard managed to even join the Hand in the first place was beyond him.

"I'm gonna keep my clothes on, if it's all the same to you." Murakami didn't say anything and just waited for him to take his place across from him, "You know, I like someone who doesn't my jaw my ear off. Ready?"

"_Anata ni_."

Murakami struck first. Peter side-stepped the heavy punch and countered with a knee to the chest. Murakami blocked his leg and pushed him back with a powerful blow to the chest,_ 'Still as fast as ever.' _Peter stumbled back slightly and took a slightly strained breath. Going invisible wouldn't work here - he could feel the countermeasures on the walls - and the room offered no advantage to either of them.

Murakami's blows were fast and difficult to dodge even with his enhanced speed. Peter ducked and tried to sweep his leg only for the old bastard to jump and almost kick his head off as he landed. Peter scowled and pressed the attack, punching at whatever vulnerabilities he could spot.

The first two blows were dodged and the third was blocked. Murakami's mouth twitched in pain from the force of the blow and Peter ejected a net of webbing. The web clung briefly to the surface of his skin before falling to the ground uselessly, "...Came prepared, huh?" He retreated slightly to the hard wall as Murakami advanced on him. Maybe he really should've taken Gwen's offer earlier. Centuries of combat experience meant nothing when your opponent could shrug off being shot by rifle rounds.

Murakami's next blow almost struck him square in the jaw. Peter dodged the blow and his fist impacted with the concrete wall hard enough to break it, _'Damn.' _Peter grabbed the older man's arm before he could pull it back and smashed the elbow with his own arm. There was a sickening crack and Murakami's face knotted in pain just by the smallest amount.

Peter twisted his arm back, breaking the bone even further, and pressed him against the wall, "Saw your men at a museum not too long ago. What were they after?"

"_Sore ga Gao no jigyōdesu._" Peter's brows furrowed. Gao's business? He was sure those were Murakami's men. Hm, probably on loan. The old bastard didn't much care for the day to day. Long as they left him alone to do his hunts they could do whatever he wanted.

He didn't get a chance to ask another question before Murakami's supposed to be broken arm broke out of his grip and he headbutted him. Peter stumbled back from the sudden, unexpected blow. He ducked to avoid the next punch and was too slow to the react to the kick aimed at his chest that forced him on his back, "Shit..." His spider-sense screamed and he rolled to avoid the ninjato coming straight for his neck.

"Time to use weapons now?" Peter eyed his arm. The bone had definitely broke and yet there he was using it like nothing was wrong. He was really starting to hate that Chi thing, "'Fraid I didn't come with anything sharp and pointy. Still don't like guns, right?" He tried not to think of the irony that _he_ was the chatty one in this relationship. Gwen would've had a field day.

Somehow the slashes and stabs were even faster than the punches and kicks. Peter let his spider-sense guide him and he almost felt like a puppet on a string as he ducked and weaved Murakami's trained strikes. It was an odd feeling, one he didn't like very much. Teresa told him something about his spider instincts before, but he still wasn't much a fan of feeling out of control in his own body.

Peter flipped back and aimed a kick at Murakami's outstretched arm. The blade flew through the air and crashed against the nearby wall. Peter kicked Murakami in the chest hard enough to make him stumble back and clicked twice on Gwen's webshooter to snag the handle of the blade. By the time the weapon was in his hands and Murakami realized what happened the blade had already come down.

The blade cut through the ring and pinky fingers of his right hand before he could move his arm fully. His other hand struck Peter's wrist and the blade fell with a dull clatter between them. His eyes snapped down to it briefly and that was long enough for Murakami to headbutt him again and kick him into wall.

They stayed in the opposing corners. Murakami was on his knees and looking down at his mangled hands while Peter panted and tried to recover from the blow to the solar plexus. He wasn't used to this. 'Honorable' fighting...it sounded like a joke to him. A fight was a fight and the dirtier you went the better chance you had. Shoot someone in the bad, cut the lights, even drop the ceiling on top of them. The time of duels and bowing had long passed.

Peter regained his breath and stood up. Murakami was still on his knees, but his gaze was focused and steely. He was ready for round two.

He barely managed a couple of steps before his spider-sense screamed. He knew that warning - _nowhere to go_. Before he could do more than brace himself a sudden, unseen force crossed the length of the room and he was flung into the wall like a ragdoll. His breath was forced out again and he looked up through blurry eyes as a figure in an ornate dress walked into the room with a cane.

"Gao..." Peter sneered. If there was anyone in the Fingers he hated dealing with, it was her. Murakami was predictable and Sowande and Bakuto hid behind their followers, but Gao...she seemed to feed off of people's misery. She propped herself up as some enlightened philosopher when really she was just a parasite who gouged the people who already had nothing.

Murakami's displeasure matched his own judging by the scowl on his face, "_Ima sugu shuppatsu._"

"No. It's clear you can't handle this." She looked down in distaste at his severed fingers, "This..._child_ is nothing more than a crying gnat and yet you failed in every turn. Now I will handle this."

Out of nowhere, two ninjas in crimson red uniforms grabbed Murakami and pulled him from the room even as he screamed. She looked down at Peter with a look of utter distaste, "You were useful, stopping the upstart, but now you've overstepped."

"Fuck you." He pulled out his gun only to be met with a deafening click. He cursed himself and grabbed for a magazine but when he looked up again Gao was already gone, "Damn it..." He pulled himself up off the ground and narrowed his eyes. He wasn't alone.

More ninjas, each of them wearing the same blood red cloth. Peter reloaded his other gun and started shooting. Something about the ninjas made it easy to forget they were people. He didn't think too much about it; the last thing he needed was a discussion on the morality of killing people who tried to stab him with pointy sticks and had the survival instinct of lemmings.

He finished off a dozen by the time he got to the hall again. His spider-sense suddenly blared...and then abruptly stopped, "What the..." He holstered his guns and sniffed the air. He smelled blood from the next room. An ambush no doubt, but...

Peter opened the door and was immediately met with the sight of another pile of dead bodies with a figure over them. It was a woman, that was clear even under the thick cloak, full body suit and patchwork mask she wore. Her right hand held a katana while the left held the neck of a ninja who was trying to choke something out through his bloodstained mask.

She stabbed his throat. He gurgled briefly and she let him drop without a word, "...Guessing you're not pals with Murakami's bunch." She stepped past him and nudged her head. He got a closer look at her mask. It looked morbid, a pathwork leather thing with obvious stitches marring the surface and no sign at all where her eyes could see out off. "You one of Matt's friends?"

Again she didn't say anything. Peter's eyes narrowed but he followed along; his spider-sense was still quiet, "...At least tell me your name." That finally got her to stop. Her shoulders sagged by the barest amount, like she could barely be bothered, and she took off her mask.

She was a young woman with tan skin and features that resembled someone with Native American heritage. Still, that was nothing compared to what drew all his attention: a white handprint that started from her right jaw to her left forehead. Her face was expressionless and the handprint only emphasized her dull brown eyes. She looked at him in silence for seconds and then mouthed a single word.

_'Echo.'_

"...Guess that's all I'm getting from you." She put her mask back and nudged her head again, "Fine...lead the way."

* * *

He missed this.

Matt grinned as he smashed the billy club against another of Murakami's pawns and broke her jaw. Her hand raised to try and stab him and he grabbed the outstretched limb before quickly breaking it. Murakami trained his men, but they weren't broken the way Stick made his students. He still remembered the harsh training, the way Stick left him with bruises all over his body all while taunting him for not being better.

He didn't hate him for it. Back then with his mother dead (and blinding him, because God had a twisted sense of humor) and his dad committing assisted suicide due to pride he had nothing and no one left. To think he actually considered the old man a father. How naive. Stick had beaten that out of him too. He wasn't his father. Stick was the blacksmith and Matthew Murdock was his weapon.

It instilled a warped sense of values in him. The closest equivalent would be those horror stories you'd hear about African children charging machinegun nests with nothing but machetes because they didn't know any better. He was the same, ready and willing to bite open someone's neck because Stick told him. He didn't know any better, he was barely ten when he killed his first man, so why would he doubt?

Stick told him to feel pride when he hurt people, and now that pride mixed in with his own sense of anger. It would've been one thing if he died right then and there in Times Square. He would've welcomed it; dead by the hands of the people he tormented under the Beast's thrall. It would've been storybook and he would die as the monster. Perfect. Now he was here, strung along on Karen's leash because the human part of her just _refused_ to give up on him. At least he could share that pain and frustration to everyone else to make himself feel better.

Or maybe he was just a sadist. Either or.

The last of the pawns fell and Matt picked up his thrown clubs. He didn't kill any of them, even if the temptation to do so was almost overpowering. He liked to think it was part of his desire to atone for his undeserved life, but really he just wanted to spite Stick. Stick taught him to kill without thought, made it as easy as breathing. Turning away from that was a victory, however petty.

He wondered how Peter was doing. Matt was certain he could take care of himself, though he was equally certain that Ms. Stacy would blame him for anything that happened to her precious Spider. It somewhat amazed him how she managed to retain that balance of kindness and stupidity despite everything she'd been through. Still, he knew well enough not to provoke her if he could help it.

"Hm..."

He told Peter he'd split off in search for information, but the computer room he found himself in ensured he was of limited value. Despite his gifts, blindness was still blindness and he couldn't read an electronic screen. Stick had deliberately refused to teach him how to repair his eyes, some justification on reliance, and at this point he didn't care enough to ask. A world on fire beat sight any day of the week.

And he had other methods.

He looked over and found one of the more uninjured pawns. Her nose and one of her hands was broken, but she was remarkably well all things considered, "We need to have a talk." Matt grabbed her by the collar and all but smashed her head against the closest table containing a computer. She cried out weakly in pain, "You know how to use a computer, right? Nod your head if yes."

It took a few seconds of hesitation, but eventually she nodded. Matt grinned openly and pushed her into a miraculously upright chair, "Good. You're going to help me. Give me information on anything your master finds valuable and I'll let you go."

"They'll...They''ll kill me..." she muttered weakly, her Japanese accent thick.

"If you don't, _I'll_ kill you." He pressed the tip of the club against her neck hard enough to choke, "Difference is you can from them. You can't run from me."

He unwrapped the billy club and wrapped the wire around her neck be he _pulled_. Choking was one of the most terrible ways to die. A bullet or a blow to the back of the head wasn't pleasant, but at least it was (usually) quick and, if you're lucky, painless. Choking was different. Your vision faded, your breath stopped and eventually you can't feel anything but the rapid beats of your heart trying to save you. It brought a fear like no other.

And an excitement. It was surprising how many died trying to go for that thrill, but he wasn't one to judge.

Her heartbeat sped up and, after a moment of internal conflict (and lots of screaming), she nodded. Matt smiled pleasantly and unwrapped the wire, "Good. I knew we could be friends." He hummed and kicked the back of the chair. Her chest hit against the deck and she heaved, "Now get to it."

It took her a few minutes to get anything with that one hand of hers, but eventually she managed to get something. He paid attention to her heartbeat the whole time. Stable - as well as it could be, considering the circumstances - so he had a good feeling. Eventually after a while (and leaving blood on the keyboard) she took a USB from the CPU and handed it to him shakily.

"Thank you very-"

Matt grabbed the USB with his right and used his billy club to deflect the thrown knife aimed at his throat. The woman wasn't so lucky. The knife embedded clear through her carotid artery. Her next few breaths came out as strangled gasps and she fell forward, crashing to the floor with a pool of blood forming underneath her.

"You're a bit late if you hoped to silence her." Matt flashed the USB tauntingly and ducked to avoid another thrown knife. Odd, he could barely hear the other figure's heartbeat, "Are you one of their test subjects?" he taunted loudly. The Hand had limited methods of resurrection even outside the Beast. Emphasis on limited - most came back with their minds fractured and their bodies damaged in some way. It would explain the faint and irregular heartbeat.

The figure didn't say anything and threw another knife. Matt deflected it and charged towards him. He expected to be stopped, but his punch connected and pushed through the feeble block. Matt hit him thrice before the figure could throw another punch, which Matt easily grabbed and countered, "Not very well trained, are you? " He elbowed him in the face and pushed him towards a nearby pillar.

The pawn crashed into it and Matt kneed him in the stomach. He let out a muted grunt of pain and quickly stood up to attack him again. Matt blocked every blow and elbowed him in the face. The pawn rolled back into a crouch and it was only then Matt noticed one of his clubs in his hands.

He spat out blood and tossed the club against the floor in front of him. It bounced, hitting Matt square in the jaw. Matt's head rang from the impact and the pawn tackled him till his back hit a nearby table painfully. Matt fell on his knees as the figure slid under the table, grabbed another knife and tossed it right where he lay.

The knife cut through the armor on his wrist. Matt scrambled back, stood and flipped through a nearby table, using it as makeshift cover, "Good aim on you." Matt hissed and pulled the knife out as the pawn tried to throw knives through the table.

He had to finish this now.

Taking a deep breath, he ran along the length of the room, dodging and deflecting the thrown projectiles as he went. He threw his last remaining club at the power switch, bathing the room in absolute darkness.

He lowered into a crouch and used the tables as cover. The pawn looked around and threw projectiles at every little noise that came. Matt kept going till he was behind him. This one he could kill; he'd died once already, after all.

Matt was almost on him before the pawn suddenly turned around and, with an eerily familiar chuckle, tossed a knife close to his neck in a minute gap through the armor. Matt screamed at the sudden pain and stumbled back into a nearby shelf. Matt raised a hand automatically to the knife, which gave the pawn a chance to grab the shelf and collapse it on top of him.

Matt landed on the ground with the shelf on top of him. The impact re-broke his arm and he bit his tongue to keep himself from screaming.

The pawn laughed, louder this time, and he finally heard it. Matt's eyes widened as the faint and irregular heartbeat became all too clear. He looked up at the pawn with wide eyes. He knew that heartbeat.

He'd been the one to end it, after all.

"Bullseye..."

For the first time, the figure spoke, "Bingo."

And then he raised his foot and stomped on Matt's head.

* * *

**So am I the only one shipping Peter/Matt right now? It's clear Peter's a super hard tsundere for him given his constant comments about how he doesn't care about him and the fact that he wants him to die. **

**And we finally got the last member of the V2 Defenders: Maya Lopez, codename Echo, a Cassandra Cain-esque figure who doesn't talk much but her actions speak more than enough for her. With this we've got four anti-heroes (Matt, Peter, Echo and Moon Knight) with one nice boi (Iron Fist). Maybe I should add more genuine nice guys?**

**...Oh, and Bullseye's back under the Hand's control. Yay. Yep, now we've got former Kingpin turned hero Daredevil fighting against former anti-hero turned unhinged monster Bullseye. You know what they say: you either live long enough to be a hero or you die and see yourself become the villain. Or at least that's how Earth-65 says it. **

**Five bucks says the audience is still gonna side with Bullseye, though. That heroic psychopath charms really colors people oddly. Speaking of, I really enjoyed writing Matt's perspective in this chapter. He's a different kind of anti-hero from the others I've written and typing out his thoughts was a real delight. I'll see about adding more POV's for him, especially when he interacts with people like Gwen and Cindy; especially Gwen.**

**Question:**

**1\. So what's the verdict so far: are you guys sympathetic and/or intrigued by Matt or should he have been executed at the end of V1? **

**Review Answers:**

**Eedura - They're supposed to be painful :) It really makes you see how a hero wannabe fares in a world where comic logic doesn't apply to them.**

**SpiderGod76 - Nacho cheese symbiote, you mean? Guess we'll see.**

**Brave2000 - Well, we get a better look into Matt's mind this chapter. What do you think, redemption or no? **

**Tangolite - Like I said, I don't plan to switch things up. I was just curious.**

**Cha0s4ever - MJ wasn't worried about being forever alone; she was worried her life would just suck in general. Also, I'm pretty sure Shadowcat would at least help in raising Laura.**

**Guest 1 - Is Matt really worthy of pity, though? As Noir and various others point he deserves to die for all the dozens if not hundreds of people he's killed. He was a criminal even before the Beast possessed him. Yes he had a fucked up childhood, he mentions it in this chapter, but does that mean he gets a chance to atone? **

**Guest 2 - Naming the baby Chocolate isn't odd considering she named Venom Webster. It's not like she's calling it Diabetes.**

**Titan616 - No plans to change track. Anyway, Frank's off in Mexico killing cartels. He's been up to half a dozen now, but it was a slow few months.**

**Guest 3 - Nah, 65-Noir sounds more like Red Hood. Original Noir is totally Cage, tho :P **

**Guest 4 - Gwen doesn't know she can use symbiote pieces to track her friends yet. Yes her dad will freak, and yes it's a different color. You'll never guess what it is ;)**

**Noisy-Crickey - Nah, MJ doesn't do scare tactics...yet. She's still doing the Dexter thing. Also, Matt/MJ would be crashed by the massive shipbreaker known as Gwendolyne 'No fucking way that's happening' Stacy. As for the birth, it's likely they'll have to be together. That's how spawning works in canon. **


	9. Three MJ's and Two Babies (Extra Story)

**Nerdman3000's Author's Note: So here's something I've been working on, based on vendetta543/eratas123's two Spider-Man stories, Two Spiders on a Web and Through the Looking Glass/Madhouse Blues. It takes place during Chapter 10 of Two Spiders on a Web but is from Two Spider's On a Web Mary Jane's POV. You'll see lots of Spider cameo's, some familiar, some obscure, and even a few I completely made up. **

**This is mostly for fun, and to help me a bit in getting back to the feeling of writing, as I haven't written much in a while. That and to get a feel for writing Mayday Parker (who shows up in this story), since I'm thinking of writing a Mayday and Annie Parker time travel adventure story.**

**So, with that, I guess I can only say, enjoy.**

Vendetta543's Author's Note: As stated above, this is not my work but rather that of Nerdman 3000's. Still, we thought that posting it here would help given that, unlike ao3, it's harder to tie works together. Any reviews and feedback belong to him :)

* * *

Mary Jane Watson (technically of Earth-65, not that she knew it) couldn't deny it to herself anymore, this whole place was completely unreal. Don't get her wrong, sure, she might have grown used to the insane fact that her best friend, and one of her bandmates, Gwen Stacy, was a frickin' Superhero who could stick to walls and swing around the city. But all this? Other dimensions filled to the brim with alternate Spider people who coincidently were like 90% made up of different versions of Peter Parker of all people? With the rest filled with versions of Gwen, and some dude named Miles?

That was a whole other level of weirdness.

_Come on Mary Jane. Your best friend can literally crawl on walls and you went out on a date with a guy from a different world. Hold yourself together girl and remember to act natural._

Closing her eyes, MJ shook her head a bit and sighed, before opening them again, as she looked around, resolving herself to move away from, well, whatever it was that Betty was chatting with the talking Spider-Buggie about (and god, wasn't that weird to see, let alone think about), and maybe try to find Glory or Gwen. Moving off the talking car she was leaning on, MJ gazed down at Betty, who was almost hugging the Spider-Buggie, while Murderface sat licking himself next to her, and forced a well-trained easygoing grin on her face.

"Hey Bets? I'm going to look for Gwencent and Glory. You okay here?"

Betty paused to blink up at her from behind her glasses, before she half-distractedly nodded and turned her attention back to the talking car, who from the sound of his British accent, was getting increasingly alarmed by the fact he was being aggressively accosted by the Mary Janes lead guitarist, who was at that very moment attempting and failing to convince the car to return with them back to their world.

Surprising as it may sound, the talking British Spider car wasn't the strangest thing Mary Jane had seen today.

In fact, Mary Jane had already so far seen a dude (another Peter she was guessing by the suit which was similar to the one she previously went on a date with) with six arms, a man dressed up as a weird mix between a whitewashed genderbent Captain America and Spider-Man, a man in a blue suit with the letter four on his chest wearing a brown paper bag on his head, two Spider-Pig's talking to a Spider-Cat, a fat dude in a Spider suit with the words '_Peter Parker: Spider-Man'_ blazed on his chest, and a Spider-Man wearing nothing but a mask and underwear. And those few themselves were just the ones she was looking directly at right now.

Perhaps if it were anyone else, this would be the point right where they'd have a mental breakdown of some kind, after seeing all the insanity which was currently happening right before her eyes. MJ herself would be lying if she said that the current situation wasn't freaking her out just the tiniest bit, because it almost certainly was. Just because Mary Jane had gotten used to the idea Gwen being Spider-Woman didn't mean she suddenly immune to realizing the craziness of this stuff. After all, she had had plenty of time before she gotten confirmation that Gwen was Spider-Woman to process the fact, what with her heavily suspecting Gwen's secret identity beforehand. Now though?

Now it was honestly a wonder Mary Jane was even able to hide how much everything she was currently seeing was freaking her out as well as she was. It was times like these that she thanked god for all those acting classes her mom used to take her to as a little kid. They had admittedly had partially been in order to get away from her dad, but Mary Jane had grown to love them. Sure, Mary Jane had always preferred the singing roles (she had especially loved playing Ariel in the play for The Little Mermaid), but it wasn't like those other acting lessons hadn't been darn useful, as the past few months and especially today had been showing.

This whole insanity she was in right now certainly was not at all what she expected to be seeing when she woke up this morning, though then again though, Mary Jane _had _been having a weird week, so it shouldn't surprise her.

"Weird week? That's an understatement…" Mary Jane muttered to herself. "Hell, it's been a weird couple of months…"

She snorted quietly, shaking her head as she wove her way through the crowd of Spider people, passing a long haired brunette in a red suit with a white spider symbol who was chatting with a dude who oddly enough was dressed like her Halloween costume from two years ago, and a Spider-Man in silvery armor who was trying to chat up a Asian woman dressed in white and black. Behind them, stood a white-haired lady dressed in a black catsuit that left far too much ample amount of cleavage and whose gimmick seemed to be a cross between spiders and cats. Said cat spider lady was at present talking to a Spider-Man who was for some reason also wearing a long red cape. Snippets of their conversations fluttered through to her ears as she walked by.

"-see, I'm actually a female clone of Pete-"

"-a clone huh? Know the feelin-"

"-yeah, I got a whole company and everything-"

"-uhh…please don't talk to me-"

"-going to lie, that cape looks _perrrrfectly _ridiculous on yo-"

"-yeah, yeah, real thanks there Felica-"

Mary Jane though mostly tried to tune them all out, deciding it was for the best she ignored them as much as possible. The more she separated herself from the craziness around her, the better. Stopping to stand on her toes a bit, MJ tried to see if she could spot Glory and Gwen, well, her Gwen at least. God knows it would be hard to tell her apart from the other Gwen's in this place if her Gwen hadn't decided to leave off the mask and wear that headband Betty got her for Christmas while Gwen was in prison, which MJ knew for a fact the blonde drummer hated (not that Gwencent would ever say anything).

While Mary Jane did see a few Gwen's, she was disappointed to find that none of the ones she saw were unmasked and wearing Betty's gift, so sadly no cigar. She did however finally spot Glory, who was casually sipping something from a cup, as she sat surrounded by a couple of weirdly dressed Spider's.

As Mary Jane approached, she saw that there were four of them to be exact, surrounding Glory as she practically interrogated them. One Spider-Man, who was strangely wearing a monocle, looked like he was from a Steampunk world, with his wrist holding some kind of mechanical rope dart device, while he smoked a small pipe from the opening in his mask. Next to him was another Shakespeare looking Spider-Man, dressed like he was from the 1600s, while behind him stood a Spider-Man dressed in old Ancient Greek or Roman armor. By his feet sat some big ancient Greek looking vases with art of warriors fighting lions, from which he refilled a simple cup of what MJ guessed was wine.

_God, I can smell that stuff from here! _

Of the bunch, the only normal looking Spider-Man seemed to be the one sitting at Glory's right. His suit was not unlike the Peter MJ had come to know the past few weeks, minus the black lines on her Peter's suit and the fact this Spider-Man's web wings seemed to be permanently extended.

Glory, MJ saw, was currently directly asking that normal looking Spider-Man questions between sips of whatever it was she was drinking (was she drinking that wine?), "So wait, kids in the 60's actually used to hang out in candy stores?"

"Of course, where else would they get together?"

Glory blinked in astonishment, "Wow… That's so weird…" She than turned and saw the approaching Mary Jane, her eyes lighting up.

"MJ!"

The four Spiders turned to her, as did a couple of other spiders in the vicinity, such as one spider, who seemed to be a ten-year-old redheaded girl in pigtails and blue kiddy armor, who had a wide-eyed gaping look as she spotted MJ, before sprinting away.

Glory turned toward the four Spiders, waving her hand in Mary Jane's direction, "Right, sorry about that. Allow me to introduce one of my best friends, Mary Jane Watson. Mary Jane, meet Peter Parker, the Spider-Man of 1962," pointing to the normal looking Spider-Man, who's white eyes had gone comically wide, before turning to the 1600s looking Spider-Man, "Peter Parquagh, the Spider of 1602," then she pointed at the Steampunk looking Spider, "Peter Parker, the Spider-Man of 1889," and at last pointing to the ancient armor looking Spider, "and last, but not least, Ptolemy blah blah blah, all you need to know is that he's more commonly known as Caesarion, the Aranea of Rome, from 30 BC."

Glory leaned over to MJ, as if to whisper some exciting secret in her ear as she nodded in the direction of the armored Spider, "No shit by the way, but his parents are actually Cleopatra and Julius Caesar."

Mary Jane blinked at the four Spider-Men, completely unsure of what to say. Honestly, she shouldn't be surprised to see that Glory had gravitated towards the history Spider's, knowing her. While Glory didn't advertise the fact all that often, Mary Jane knew Glory was privately actually quite the history buff and fan, so MJ wasn't completely shocked to see that the other girl was taking an interest in meeting Spiders from other time periods.

Still, that introduction didn't exactly leave much room for a conversation starter. Thankfully though, MJ didn't have to worry all that much as the one who broke the tension would in fact be the still wide-eyed normal Spider-Man stared at her, who finally stuttered out, "Y-your M-Mary Jade Watson? Anna Watson's niece?"

Mary Jane looked down at him, confused, "Uh, yeah. You know my aunt?"

He looked down, mumbling, "Y-yeah. Anna Watson in my world is my neighbor. She and Aunt May have been trying to get me together with her niece."

Mary Jane could tell he was embarrassed. If she had to take a guess, he had probably tried to avoid meeting with the her from his world. She probably would have done the same if her mom tried to get her together or introduce her to some boy.

Patting his shoulder, Mary Jane comforted him, "Well Tiger, while I don't know what that other me is like, I think if you give her a chance, you might just hit the Jackpot."

The Steampunk Spider-Man nodded, a puff of smoke coming out of his pipe, "Well said Lady Watson."

Next to him, Caesarion crossed his arms and said something in a language MJ didn't understand. The Steampunk Spider-Man responded back in the same language, Latin MJ was guessing, leading to Caesarion giving a short reply and nodding. The Steampunk Spider-Man turned to them, clearing his throat, "It would seem that young Caesarion is also in complete agreement."

Mary Jane tilted her head, "Were you translating for him in Latin or something?"

The Steampunk Spider-Man shook his head, "Ah, I see you caught the language? Are you perhaps familiar with it much? As you your question, no I'm afraid. Young Caesarion was simply asking for clarification on some of the words you said." Mary Jane didn't exactly know how to respond to that, so she just nodded, though Glory looked at the British Spider strangely, "Wait…he understands English?! I thought you said he couldn't speak it?"

The Steampunk Spider-Man looked down on her, and sniffed, before he shook his head, "No… well, at least not completely. I have lately been attempting to teach him English you see, and though he had made remarkable strides in understanding the language when it is spoken, I'm afraid he has had difficulty when it concerns actually speaking it. I am of course endeavoring to correct this."

Glory then looked at Caesarion, almost salivating, as though some new opportunity just arose on her doorstep. Glory, MJ thought, probably hadn't been happy at the fact that the Steampunk Spider-Man would have to translate everything, so she was do doubt thrilled that it had just gotten easier. MJ honestly dreaded to know what Glory was going to start asking the Roman Spider, immediately feeling bad for the poor guy. Still, MJ stuck around for a few minutes, just listening to all of Glory's questions to the Victorian and Roman Spider-Men (the 60's Spider-Man and 1602 Spider-Man had both eventually left for newer pastures), before at the corner of MJ's eye, she caught _her_ Gwen, wearing that ridiculous spikey headband, as she was talking to some female Spider, who was unmasked. Quickly giving Glory and the two Spider-Men a nod and wishing her goodbyes, Mary Jane made her way to Gwen and the Spider-Girl she was with.

To both Mary Jane's surprise and amusement, she saw that the two women were actually hugging each other. Or rather, the other spider was hugging Gwen and Gwen was returning the gesture. As the two let go, MJ saw that the other girl looked to be around their age, if a bit younger. Mary Jane, as a person who generally didn't exactly care much for gender when pursuing relationships, couldn't deny that the short haired brunette was quite the looker.

Grinning as she walked toward the two, Mary Jane shouted to them, "Yo, Gwencent!" MJ vaguely noticed the brunette stiffening, but her attention at that moment lied more on Gwen, who was failing to try to hide how mortified and suddenly uncomfortable she was. MJ's grin grew wider, more and more wondering what exactly the relationship between the two women in front of her was, though she would admit to having already begun speculating on that front.

The pale looking Gwen, trying and failing to act casual, asked, "Hey, MJ. What's up?"

Mary Jane shrugged, "Nothing much. Betty's with that talking car - I think she's convincing it to come back with us," she nodded her head back at Betty's direction, "and Glory's looking over by the history Spiders. Wanted to see what you were up."

MJ's eyes shifted to the frozen and scandalized brunette, nodding in her direction, "Who's your friend?"

"Uh...this Mayday." Gwen nudged the other girl forward, "We were just...chatting."

"Huh, well, nice to meet you." Mary Jane gave the girl a smile, offering the teenager a hand. The brunette on the other hand, who Mary Jane guessed must be really shy, just oddly stared at the offered hand for a few seconds, before another nudge from Gwen brought her back to reality, "Uh, y-yeah, you too!"

She shook the hand as quick as possible before pulling away, just as fast.

Yup, MJ thought, definitely shy.

"Sooo…." Mary Jane began, hoping to break the awkwardness, tilting her head as she gazed at brunette, who seemed rooted to the spot, "Mayday huh? It certainly…" MJ looked up and down at the other girl, "-fits, I suppose." Tilting her head, "Is that your actual name though, or is it like a nickname? Cause to me it kind of sounds like a nickname."

Mayday however just continued to stare at her like a deer stuck in headlights. MJ would have thought it made her look adorable, but honestly, now she was getting concerned. Like did she do something wrong?

"Hello? Mayday? You alright? I don't smell bad do I?"

Mayday balked, "W-What? No! No of course you don't smell!" She began to mumble, "W-Why would you think you smelled…oh god I didn't mean..."

MJ just laughed a bit, "Hey, it's fine. It was just a joke. Really, I didn't mean anything by it. Honest."

Mayday looked down, "Oh…"

MJ just smiled, feeling suddenly bad for the other girl, as she realized the other girl must have massive self-esteem issues. It was a shame, Mary Jane thought. If not for that, she might have been willing to try and go for it with the other girl, even despite the fact that Mary Jane was still getting over the stinging left over feeling of her recent date with Peter, which MJ had ended up sort of botching. She still semi cursed herself a bit for how she had handled breaking the news she didn't want a relationship with Peter, remembering how the poor kids face fell.

Of course, just because she wasn't planning on trying her luck with Mayday, didn't mean MJ couldn't have some fun.

"Hey, trust me, I don't bite," Mary Jane said with a flirty grin, before pausing, "much…not unless you _want _me to. Do you want me bite Mayday?"

The response she got though was not nearly what Mary Jane was expecting, as the extremely shy girl in front of her started hyperventilating, looking moments away from a panic attack. Not at all what the redhead had intended.

MJ sighed. Okay, maybe she had miscalculated a bit and pushed her luck. She's was going to have to backtrack on things otherwise the other girl was going to pass out. Thank god Gwen was here…

Mary Jane blinked, looking for Gwen and suddenly not finding the blonde. Okay…correction. Gwen was _not_ here.

The singer darted her head around, looking for her bandmate, only to eventually spot her hanging out with Peter, or at least, their Peter. Or well, not their Peter, because he was dead…ah never mind. Sigh. See, this is why there being a multiverse kind of sucked. Everything gets all confusing.

Mary Jane groaned. What the hell was she supposed to do now?

_Okay, MJ, think! Earlier you were able to snap her out of her funk when you distracted her with that lame smelling bad joke, right? Okay, fine, but what? … Gah! Why is this so difficult?! Wait! What was the really lame thing that Morales kid back in High School tried to do to pick up Gwen? Eh, whatever, it's better than nothing._

Mary Jane raised her left arm and dropped it on Mayday's shoulder, giving her a smoldering look with a lopsided grin, startling Mayday. Bracing for impact, Mary Jane, with as much confidence as she could, spoke.

"Hey."

And just like that, Mayday had reentered the world of the living, while Mary Jane internally jumped for joy.

_YES! EXCELSIOR! Wait, what does that even mean? You know what, who cares, that thing actually f*cking worked. Thank you, Morales!_

Mayday on the other hand, having snapped out of whatever funk she was, looked around in confusion for a second, before looking at Mary Jane, equally as confused, "Mom?"

And just like that, the mental celebration going on in Mary Jane's head stopped. No not just stopped, it completely crashed and burned.

_Did she just call me _Mom_? Why would she call me-oh…_

Oh.

_Oh!_

OH GOD!

Mayday, who it seemed realized what she just said, quickly grabbed and helped to steady the stumbling Mary Jane, whose face was red in embarrassment.

"I'm so…I…god this is so embarrassing." Mary Jane mumbled, while Mayday, who it seemed finally got over the funk she was in, quietly laughed.

"Yeah, tell me about it."

The two women quietly laughed between themselves.

"So, like, I'm really sorry."

Mayday waved her off, "It's uh… it's fine. I mean, who doesn't want to get flirted at by a younger version of their mother," She nervously chuckled, before shaking her head, "To be honest though, I probably could have handled my reaction a bit better."

"…Yeah."

An uneasy silence appeared, before Mary Jane finally broke it, "So…um…I'm really your mom then?"

Mayday winced, "A version of her, yeah…"

"And uh, your dad?"

"Peter Parker."

Mary Jane blinked, tilting her head to the side, "Huh…"

Mayday nodded.

Silence.

"Really?"

"What?" Mayday asked, seemingly partially offended on her father's behalf.

Mary Jane shook her head, "It's just, I don't know. I mean, I once went on a date with the guy, but I can't imagine marrying him or having kids with him."

Mayday shook her head, "No offense mom-I mean Mary Jane, like eighty to ninety percent of dad's love life in the multiverse is basically him ending up with you or versions of you, with the remaining twenty or ten percent being dad marrying Gwen Stacy or Felicia Hardy. The only other person I've ever seen a version of dad marry is either Carol Danvers or Cindy Moon."

Mary Jane stared at her, mouthing to herself, 'Eighty to ninety'.

"W-What about me though?"

Mayday shrugged, "I haven't exactly met many other versions of you, to be honest, so I really don't know. The only ones I've met all ended up with dad though, with one possible exception, and I guess, you."

Mary Jane frowned, "Who'd she end up with then? The one possible exception."

"I don't know, that version of you was a stripper."

Mary Jane moved back, looking like she'd been slapped, while Mayday grimaced, and began cursing under her breath.

"W-wait?! Like an actual frickin-"

"Yes! And please, let's maybe stop bringing that up again. It was traumatizing to me as it is." The brunette visibly shuddered.

"But h-how did that even happen?"

"I don't know, and I don't want to know! Thank you!" Mayday screamed in a panicked voice, as she began to mutter to herself about topless mothers dancing on poles, to MJ's growing horror.

The odd moment would have continued if not for a third voice, one who seemed to be quite amused by Mayday and MJ's byplay, butted it with a laugh, "Oh you guys are a riot, aren't you?"

Mary Jane and Mayday looked to see who had interrupted them, only for the two to gape at the figure in front of them, who to their duel shock, would seem to be, well, another Mary Jane Watson.

_What the f*ck? _

"Your me?!" Mary Jane gasped.

"Quite the observant one, aren't you." Other MJ sarcastically replied.

_Okay…I guess I deserved that. I mean, I knew it was possible, but I didn't expect to actually meet another version of me while I was here. You know what MJ, just roll with it._

Giving the other redhead the once over, Mary Jane noticed the other MJ was the same age as her, and was wearing red and blue, with a blue jacket which featured a red spider blazed on the chest, blue legging covered by long red heelless boots with white tips. Lastly, her long red hair, which was topped by headphones covering her ears Mary Jane noted, was exposed and not covered by the mask, which itself had miraculously disappeared from her face by itself.

_Don't know how she did that, but that was both cool and disgusting._

Mayday meanwhile, standing next to her, glanced and the two of them and muttered, "Great…Now there are two of them…This is never not weird…"

Mary Jane raised an eyebrow, "Aren't most of the people here technically versions of your dad though?"

The other girl however had a pained grimace at the mention of her dad, before mumbling, "Yeah, but I quickly got used to those. I told you, I don't often meet different versions of my mom, considering that they're much less…common."

"Well, certainly, no other me's that have flirted with you, I would hope." Mary Jane snarked at her own expense, having finally rolled with the fact she was standing in front of another version of herself.

Mayday rolled her eyes and shook her head, before turning her attention over to the three people before them. Mary Jane followed her gaze, frowning.

Other MJ, well the one in red and blue at least, raised an eyebrow at them, "You two done now?"

Mayday and Mary Jane turned to look at each other, before looking back at the Other MJ. Mayday shrugged, "Yeah, I guess so. Mind uh, introducing yourself?"

Other MJ raised an eyebrow, "What? Don't know your own mother?"

Mayday rolled her eyes, "Har har…"

Other MJ grinned as she took off the headphones she was wearing, causing Mary Jane and Mayday to wince at the really loud music coming out, which MJ vaguely recognized as her band's signature song, 'Face it Tiger'. It was so loud though that MJ kept having to wince, but she was honestly thankful when the Other MJ began to lower the volume.

_God, my head is ringing…and, huh, that is Face it Tiger. Though I thought Gwen said that the Mary Janes being a band wasn't a common thing in the multiverse or whatever? That it was usually only found in worlds where she was Spider-Woman._

"Why the hell did you have that so loud?" Mary Jane asked, a grimace overtaking her. A couple of nearby Spiders were also glaring at Other MJ's direction as they walked past, seemingly all in agreement. One Spider in a black suit was giving Other MJ a particularly venomous look.

The redhead shrugged, "You'd be shocked how much that has helped me to relax and think. Don't exactly need to worry about hearing correctly with this thing on on and plus, the music helps to keep Crimson out of my head, since for whatever reason despite it not being able to hurt it anymore, my singing annoys the hell out of it. So ultimately a win-win I guess."

"Crimson?" Mary Jane frowned, clearly wondering who that was.

Other MJ's face was unreadable for a moment, but Mary Jane could have sworn for just a second that it had shifted to an almost nasty look, one full of bitterness, but it was gone before Mary Jane could be sure. Either way, the Other MJ turned to her shoulder and began speaking, "Come on out Crimson. Other me wants to say hi."

Mary Jane gasped in horror as a red, blobish, _thing_, with sharp teeth and wicked eyes literally popped out from the Other MJ's shoulder, before it gave the two girls a toothy grin. Then the image was made worse when the thing actually spoke.

**"Hi."**

Mary Jane would have screamed if Mayday hadn't grabbed her, giving her a look. Around them, various other Spiders were giving them, or more specifically Other MJ, looks of fear and shock, some even backing away, other looking like they were ready to get into action at any moment. Mayday quickly gave those Spiders a look and they reluctantly scooted away.

Mayday gave the Other MJ a hard look, "That's the Carnage Symbiote."

**"Ah ha! See? I told you we should have called ourselves Carnage."**

_Oh god! It's voice! _

The voice, to Mary Jane's growing horror, was like her own, only made twisted and inhuman. Evil.

Other MJ however didn't seem to be all that concerned about the things voice, as she rolled her eyes and replied, "For the hundredth time, no, I'm not calling you Carnage."

**"Aww…Your no fun."**

Other MJ rolled her eyes.

Mary Jane though still looked on in complete horror, "W-what t-the f*ck is that thing?!"

Mayday looked on her in sympathy, "It's called a symbiote. Your Gwen, unless I'm not mistaken, has one that's similar. They're basically creatures that need a host to survive, so they bond with a host. Their pretty much Parasites if we're-"

**"PARASITE?!"**

Mary Jane stepped back, away from the Other MJ and the thing on her shoulder. Other MJ glared slightly at Mayday before she grabbed her phone and threateningly lifted it, with a finger over the volume up button, and the song 'Face it Tiger' ready to play once more. The symbiote growled, but carefully eyed MJ's phone, wary at being subjugated to listening to MJ sign again.

_Who knew one day I'd see my singing used to threaten a freaking monster…_

Things slowly began to calm down, and the redheaded singer began to slowly swallow her fear of the red creature that was now glaring at Mayday again. Mary Jane now vaguely remembered Gwen having talked about that new suit she got and having called it a symbiote, but honestly MJ hadn't payed much attention at the time, considering all the other stuff and revelations that had been occurring then.

Now part of her wished she had, so that she could have a better idea of what the hell the thing in front of her was.

Other MJ gave both Mary Jane and Mayday a grimace, ignoring the silently fuming Crimson on her shoulder, "Yeah, sorry about that. It doesn't like the P-word, as you can see."

Mary Jane quietly nodded while Mayday crossed her arms over her chest, the later speaking, "That thing…that thing is dangerous. I've had run ins with my universes Carnage and it wasn't pretty," shaking her head to herself, "You're not the first version of my mom who I've met who happens to be bonded to the Carnage Symbiote, but hers was just an extension of herself, as the symbiote didn't have a mind of its own anymore."

The mention of that another Mary Jane with a Carnage symbiote led to the nasty, bitter look MJ had sworn she had seen earlier return to the Other MJ face's, as the other girl clenched her fist, and quietly began to focus on her breathing.

_I knew I hadn't imagined that._

Crimson though began to suddenly crackle, causing both Mary Jane and Mayday to startle.

**"Oh ho ho…oh look another thing for you to be jealous about! Three strikes and you're out!"**

The thing began to laugh loudly as the Other MJ's eyes blazed in anger, before she snapped at the red symbiote, "Shut it!"

**"Oh, don't look at me. I'm not the one who gets all mad and bitter every time she looks at the girl," **it nodded it's head toward Mary Jane, **"who didn't get the honor of becoming my host," **then it looked at Mayday, **"or when she sees the little girl she'll never have with Petey-poo."**

Other MJ looked thunderous, "You stupid little-" She looked moments away from grabbing the neck of the snake looking creature, "You know for a fact that I-I'm…I'm not still pining over Peter…I-I have a boyfriend…"

**"Liar Liar, pants on fire! We both know you're not over him at all! And as for _him,_**" it spoke the last word with such venom, **"you can do so much better than that-"**

"_YOU GOT TO FACE IT TIGER! FACE IT TIGER! YOU HIT THE JACKPOT!"_

The loud screeching of the song 'Face it Tiger blared to life once more, this time coming from Mary Jane's own phone, which she held up at the Other MJ and Crimson, the later of whom seemed somewhat pained (not physically pained though, from what MJ could tell. It looked more like a annoyed kind of pain) by the sound of Mary Jane's singing. Mary Jane herself was wincing, but she ignored the volume of the song for just a moment, as the Other MJ took the hint and put her headphone on and began to play the song on her own phone. Mary Jane nodded and paused the song on her phone, as the red symbiote receded back into the Other MJ's shoulder.

For a moment, it was beautifully silent. Other MJ sagged her shoulders and mumbled a bit before she looked up at her dimensional counterpart.

"Thanks."

Mary Jane nodded, "No problem."

Other MJ was quiet for another moment, before speaking, "So uh…sorry about Crimson. It uh…it tends to get all moody like that after you use the P-Word."

"Yeah, I can tell."

Other MJ nodded, unsure of what to say, while the still silent Mayday looked between them with her arms crossed. Finally, Mayday gave a large sigh and rubbed her eyes, before turning to the Other MJ, "Why…why the hell are you still wearing that thing. It's dangerous and clearly you don't have the best relationship with the thing."

Other MJ shrugged, "Oh trust me, I tried, but the consensus seemed to be that I couldn't get it off without me dying as a result. Plus, our relationship, for lack of a better term, is not nearly as bad as it was two years ago when we first met. Hell, it's not even as bad as it was a year ago," the Other MJ looked down, "It's just…I'm just not in a good mood at the moment, for uh…personal reasons, and then you said the P-word, and well…trust me, Crimson always gets in a pissy mood if you use the P-word."

Mary Jane frowned, "How'd that thing even get on you?"

Other MJ looked on her, looking both lost and sad at the same time, "God…t-that's…. that's a long story…" She looked away, lost in thought, "Honestly I'd think it take over an hour to tell the story. If I wrote it all down, I think you'd have to write over a million words just to get it all down, but for now I'll just settle for the quick summary."

"See, in my world, I was in a band, the Mary Janes," Mary Jane stood up straighter at hearing her bands name, suddenly realizing the implications, "and unknown to me for a long time, my best friend, and our bands drummer, Gwen Stacy, had gotten bit by a radioactive spider and was secretly a superhero, Spider-Woman. There a lot more that came after, but something tells me your familiar with a lot of it." The symbiote host nodded in Mary Jane's direction.

"Peter Parker turned himself into the Lizard and everyone blamed Gwen for his death? Blind lawyer possessed by a demon who's a secret Kingpin of Crime?" the redhead asked.

Other MJ nodded, "Got it in one," Looking to the side, she continued, "For two years, nothing really changed much. Gwen was hunted by the cops because everyone thought she was guilty, and she kept missing band practice. Same shtick for two years, that is, until Peter Parker miraculously showed up again, only now he was suddenly calling himself Spider-Man and he claimed that he was from another world, one where it was still the 1930s. That familiar to you too other me?"

Mary Jane shook her head, "Recently a Peter Parker did come to our world, but he wasn't from the 1930s. Everything else though before that is."

The Other MJ blinked, tilting her head to the side, "Huh…"

She shook her head and kept speaking, "I never exactly tried to involve myself into what Gwen was doing, eventually though, it caught up to me. I got into an argument with Glory, and after I ran off, I got attacked in an alley by these bastards who wanted to rape me." Her look was dark, "Only thing was, as I was laying there, bleeding, Crimson found me. A few days before hand, it and it's original host, Cletus Kassady, had been," she paused for a second, seemingly searching for the right word, "…defeated," the Other MJ paused again, as the red in her suit rippled, and an uncomfortable look crossed her face. She casually thumbed over and pressed the volume up button on her phone before she continued, "by Gwen and Peter. It was by itself and in need of a host, and well, I guess I was convenient. I became Scarlet Spider and the rest is shall we say history."

Mary Jane looked at the Other MJ in confusion, "That's it?"

"What? Did you expect me to tell my whole life story? You asked for a summary, and I gave you a summary."

Mary Jane frowned, "It's just…It sounds like you skipped a bit at the end."

Other MJ laughed, "Of course I skipped stuff. There's a bit that happened that I'm not proud of. I won't deny it, but I don't care to drudge up memories of it, thank you very much."

_She's hiding something. What exactly did she do…?_

She never got to ask though, as Mayday, who had been silent up until now, finally spoke up, "You know, I think I might know her world actually."

Both Mary Jane Watson's looked at her in confusion, "You do?"

Mayday nodded, "Yeah, if I got the right world, then I actually got stuck in it for like a week once. It was before the Inheritors first started attacking us. You probably wouldn't know about it since I mostly fought alongside your Gwen. I remember her telling me a bit about her world, and she mentioned that a version of Noir lived in it, and that her Mary Jane was a hero called Scarlet Spider. She didn't exactly tell me you got your powers from the Carnage symbiote though," she frowned, "Anyways, I'm sure she would remember if I ever bump into her here. Trust me, it was a whole uh, thing."

Other MJ tilted her head, "Yeah, Gwen never mentioned any of that."

"Really? Not even once?"

"Nope…"

Mayday blinked, tilting her head to the side, "Huh…"

Shaking her head, the brunette daughter of Spider-Man muttered to herself, "Maybe I got the wrong universe then."

Turning to Mary Jane, Mayday waved a hand in the Other MJ's direction, "Well, assuming I'm not actually wrong about her world, then from what I understand, their world is basically an offshoot of your universe, Earth-65. Theirs is one those universes that tend to be kind of weird because they exist solely due to interference from other universes," Shaking her head, Mayday frowned, "From what I remember though, it doesn't technically have an official designation of it's yet at the moment. I think we were planning to just give it the designation Earth-165, but I'm not sure if we went through with that."

Mary Jane frowned, "Okay…" She looked over at the Other MJ in thought.

_So, wait, her world like, split from mine and sh*t right? That means I could have become her or something?_

Grabbing her head at the feelings of the beginnings of an incoming headache, one thought quickly came through Mary Jane's mind.

_Gah! The Multiverse is too f*cking confusing._

Other MJ was frowning, looking at Mayday in scrutiny, "You know, now that you mention it, you do look familiar…"

Mayday brightened up, "So I was right! I mean, we did run into one another at one point, sort of. I never told you who I was though…I mean, I was too busy hiding from you…"

Other MJ distractedly nodded. She turned to Mary Jane and offhandedly said, "Unless I'm wrong, yes, it means your world and mine used to be one and the same until they split, I'm guessing probably when my Peter showed up."

Mary Jane looked at her oddly, "Does that thing let you read my mind? How'd you know what I was thinking?"

Other MJ snorted, "I'm you, aren't I? I'd like to think that'd mean that I have some insight into what exactly it is that you might be thinking."

"Right…"

Other MJ rolled her eyes.

Mayday gave her a look, "I'm not sure that's how that works though."

Other MJ shrugged, "I was right though, wasn't I?"

Mary Jane sighed and turned to Mayday, "You know she doing this on purpose rig-" Mary Jane never got to finished as a shout interrupted her and caught the attention of the three of them.

"Mom! Look! Look!" they looked up to see a little girl pointing at Mary Jane, "It's her! I told you I saw her!"

The girl let go of her a woman's hand and ran up to them, ignoring the shouts of her mother, grinning the entire way. It barely took Mary Jane a moment to realize it was the same little redheaded girl with pigtails she had seen earlier. Now said girl was now grinning up at both Mary Jane's and Mayday, excitement and glee in her eyes.

Arriving behind her was the girl's mother in question, who had finally caught up to and grabbed her daughters' hand. To Mary Jane's surprise, she saw that the girl's mother was an older, Mary Jane, who looked to being in her late thirties and was wearing a costume not too dissimilar from that of the average Spider-Man's like Peter, minus the fact that the blue was replaced with white. This older MJ seemed mightily amused, as she tightly held her daughters hand, so as to try preventing the girl from running off again to grab at Mayday and the two Mary Jane.

"And now there are three of them…Gah! I hate my luck." Mayday bemoaned.

Other MJ, well the one from before – Damn! This is so confusing now that there was a third MJ, she was just going to mentally relabel the MJ with the Carnage Symbiote as Scarlet MJ – anyways, Scarlet MJ went poker-faced at the little girl and her mother, her left-hand tightening into a fist.

"Mom! See? See? I was right!" the little girl exclaimed excitedly.

"Yes Annie, I can see that." The Older MJ nodded and gave the three of them a smile.

The little girl – Annie was it? – turned to them and chattered, "I knew I had saw mom, or well, I guess younger mom, so when I went to find mom though to show you to her, you were gone, and we had to find you, but it took so long since there are so many other Spiders here and not all of them are mom, but then I saw your hair –"

"Breathe Annie! Breathe!" Mary Jane said, shaking the girl's shoulder.

"Jesus kid, don't you know how to use periods?" Scarlet MJ sarcastically asked, "I felt like I was listening to Hermione Potter speak on the Hogwarts Express from those Harry Granger movies."

Annie gave her a weird look, "You mean Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter movies."

"No, I meant Hermione Potter-"

"It's Hermione Granger."

"No, it isn't!"

"Yes, it is!"

"Hey!" Mary Jane snapped at Scarlet MJ, "What are you doing? She's like eight, how old are you? And since when are you a fan of those movies?"

_I'm certainly not._

Scarlet MJ mumbled, "I watched them with Gwen and Cindy once a few months after I first got Crimson. I got addicted…" Then she slapped her own forehead, "And I totally forgot that different worlds often have differently named movies, shows, and books."

Annie took that as a hint that she was right and proudly grinned up at Scarlet MJ, before sticking out her tongue at her. Her mother meanwhile was quietly laughing in the background.

Mayday meanwhile ignored the two younger Mary Janes, as she was looking at the new pair, slightly stiffly, with the same uncomfortableness from when she had first met Mary Jane having now slightly returned. She cleared her throat, and addressed the mother and daughter pair, "Your uh, your Spinneret right? Well I mean, I know your Mary Jane Watson, but your hero name is Spinneret right? And this is your daughter Annie, otherwise known as Spiderling?"

The Older MJ blinked, tilting her head to the side, "Huh…"

She frowned in confusion, "How do you-"

"I've met you and your daughter before," Mayday interrupted, "uh, older versions of you that is. From a different universe." Looking down on the redheaded girl, "That Annie was a teenager. We uh, fought alongside each other."

The Older MJ, or it seemed adept to call her Spinneret, seemed unsure how to respond, except to say, "Ok…"

Scarlet MJ, who was looking between Mayday and Spinneret decided to butt in, "Wait, hold on a second. You said her hero name is Spinneret?"

Mayday looked confused by the question but nodded.

Scarlet MJ snorted and began to laugh quietly to herself. The other four gave her odd looks, but the symbiote host shook her head and nodded to Mayday, "Sorry, Sorry. Don't mind me. Continue whatever it is you were saying."

Annie tilted her head to Mary Jane, and gave a stage whisper, like she was telling some great secret, "She's weird." Mary Jane covered a laugh with a cough while Scarlet MJ, who had heard (Annie hadn't exactly been subtle or that quiet), glared at them both.

_Kind of weird to laugh at the expense of another me, but what are you going to do._

Spinneret gave a resigned sigh and bemused smile at her daughter's antics, before turning to Mayday.

"Sorry, I never got your name?"

Mayday's eye's widened, and she looked uncertain of what to say, glancing at both younger Mary Janes and Annie. She gulped and looked at Spinneret, and finally stuttered out, "M-My name…" she took a deep breath, "my…m-my name is Mayday...I-I mean, May Parker… and m-my…" The brunette then looked down, unable to gaze at the suddenly wide and tearful eyes of her mother counterpart, "…m-my parents were Peter and M-Mary Jane Parker."

Mary Jane and Scarlet MJ looked at each other in confusion, wondering what was going on, while the little red head girl looked at Mayday like she was some kind of odd specimen.

Spinneret's hand reached up and softly stroked Mayday's face, staring and examining every detail of the brunette Spider's face. Her eyes were intensely watery as she studied Mayday's features.

"It's funny," a sobbing laugh came from her, "you look just like I always imagined you would have look like i-if…if…"

Spinneret closed her eyes, and separated her hand from Mayday's cheek, before she moved to leave. The brunette however shook her head and pulled Spinneret into a hug. It was as she was watching the sobs emanate out of Spinneret that Mary Jane finally understood what exactly it was that had happened, as she and Scarlet MJ quietly shared a look of dawning understanding with each other.

_Damn…she must have lost her Mayday…_

Truth be told, Mary Jane had herself never given much thought to having kids. It was always something that she thought she'd have when she eventually found someone and got married of course, but it was never something she particularly gave more than a brief second thought to. Yet now, not only was she confronted with two girls whom were technically her daughter, or at least the daughters of other versions of her, but now she also had to deal with the idea of what it would be like to actually lose one of those kids, which frankly Mary Jane had never considered something that could ever happen to her.

Yet sadly enough it seems to have happened to the older version of herself that now stood before her, and that bothered Mary Jane more than she would admit. Looking over at Scarlet MJ, Mary Jane could see that the same thoughts must have been running in her head, as she loosed her fist, and looked on in sympathy toward their mutual older counterpart. Said older version of her self's sobs now began receding into small hiccups, as she slowly disentangled from Mayday, and quietly wiped a final tear from her eye.

A short silence enveloped the three Mary Janes and the lone Mayday, while Annie continued to look at her mother and interdimensional sister in confusion.

"I don't get it…" said Annie, a confused frown on her face. Mary Jane looked at the girl sadly while Scarlet MJ looked away. With a grieving look on her face, Spinneret knelt down before the little girl and began to quietly explain, Mayday giving the girl an almost remorseful look. Annie looked between her mother and Mayday as Spinneret quietly explained the fate of her world's Mayday, of the older sister she almost had. A subdued Annie stayed quiet even after her mother finished explaining, giving only a silent nod.

The silence continued for moments, no one sure of what exactly to say, before Scarlet MJ finally broke the tension, looking at Mary Jane, "So um…how are the Mary Janes doing in your world?"

Mary Jane looked startled at the question, before answering, "Uh, we're doing good. We uh, gained a bit of popularity recently, and Face it Tiger recently entered the top 10 music charts."

Scarlet MJ looked a bit stunned, "Wait…really?"

Mary Jane scratched the back of her head, looking down and gloomy for a split second, "Yeah, my Gwen's identity got exposed more than about a year ago. So, the band's currently uh, riding the waves of her new fame, as you might say…"

Spinneret meaning was looking at the two in confusion, muttering to herself out loud, "Gwen's identity? Band?"

They both looked at Spinneret, before Scarlet MJ answered, "In our world, a friend of ours, Gwen Stacy, is Spider-Woman, and together we're in a rock band called the Mary Janes, named after yours truly. Other MJ here," Scarlet MJ nodded toward Mary Jane, "is in the same boat."

Mary Jane titled her head, "I'm guessing that's not the case in your world though…?"

Spinneret shook her head, her long flowing locks of red hair shaking with the movement, "Nope. My husband Peter is Spider-Man, while G-Gwen is…" she took a breath, "Gwen is dead…" the two younger Mary Jane's reeled back at the word's while Spinneret softly finished, "She…She was my friend."

_G-Gwen's…her Gwen is dead?_

Mayday gave a sad nod, "Unfortunately that seems to commonly be the case in the multiverse."

Spinneret looked pained at the words while Scarlet MJ and Mary Jane gave each other shocked look's, neither knowing what exactly to say in response.

_Yeah, Gwen never mentioned that little bit…_

Gwen wasn't exactly sure how to process the idea of Gwen Stacy, her friend, being dead, let alone the idea that it was a common occurrence in the multiverse. Mary Jane wondered if that was why Peter and her getting together seemed so common in the multiverse, though she couldn't imagine all those Gwen's dying so often for that to be the case.

_I suppose now's suddenly the time for shocking truth's I wasn't expecting or had given much thought too._

Spinneret gave Mary Jane and Scarlet MJ a chance to process the idea of Gwen's death before she continued her response to the earlier question, "As for being in a band… well, I can say I never was part of that. I mean, I did do a bit of modeling and some work as an actress sure, but I definitely didn't join any bands."

Mary Jane was taken aback, "Wait, you were a model?"

_The acting part doesn't entirely surprise me considering the acting classes I used to go to, so it _kind_ of makes sense I might have pursued that more in another world, but where did the modeling come from?_

Spinneret nodded, "Yeah, when I was a lot younger. Way before Annie was even born." The older redhead gave one of the younger redheads a look, "Though you don't seem all that surprised compared to her?"

Scarlet MJ shook her head, "Nope. Did some modeling myself a while back." She grimaced, "Wasn't a great point in my life, I'll admit. The guy who I was working for, Rodrick Kingsley," Mayday and Spinneret both grimaced and gave Scarlet MJ sympathetic looks, "turned out to be a supervillain. Plus, I ended up having to fight against two of my fellow models who went on to join my rogue's gallery."

"Can't say I remember having to fight other models, but I I'm not surprised about Kingsley being a d*ck in another world as well."

Mary Jane looked between them, "I'm guessing this Kingsley is someone to watch out for?"

Scarlet MJ laughed, "Oh you have no idea…"

Mayday nodded with a shudder, "Agreed."

Mary Jane looked at Mayday, tilting her head, "You worked for this Kingsley a**hole as a model too?"

"Me?" Mayday shook her head, "No, thankfully not. But I have fought the guy before and he's a real piece of work. As for modeling, well while I've gotten a few offers before, I've never taken them because of well…" she gestured to the Spider suit she was wearing.

Spinneret studied her a bit, "You should give it a thought. You've certainly got the looks for it."

Mayday turned a bit red and stuttered out a thanks.

Mary Jane meanwhile decided it might be best to see if she could hear more about this Kingsley fella. The name, now that she thought about it, seemed to be worriedly familiar. Opening her mouth to speak, "So this Kingsley, what can you -" Mary Jane stopped though and turned her head in confusion at the sudden out of place noise of a distance, angry sounding car horn.

_That wasn't the Spider-Buggie Betty was bothering, was it? Please don't be the Spider-Buggie._

Mary Jane wasn't entirely sure what to do but was still prepared to put it out of her head and continue speaking, when she heard angry yelling. This disturbance was followed by a Peter Parker wearing only a monocle and old timey underwear shorts running through the crowd of Spider people, and then past them.

Mayday and the three Mary Janes just raised an eyebrow while Annie blinked, tilting her head to the side, "Huh…" That was, Mary Jane realized, the first word the suddenly quiet little girl had spoken since she had found out about the death of her world's Mayday Parker as a baby.

From where the second undies Spider-Man Mary Jane had seen today had run through came a group of furious Spider-people. One of them, who looked like the female Asian spider wearing black and white that MJ had seen being chatted at by the silvery armored Spider-Man minus the hair, which was much longer, asked, "Did you see where he-"

The five of them pointed in the direction the naked Spider guy had gone, to which the group of angry Spiders followed, briefly giving them thanks as they went, though not before the Asian Spider who had spoken earlier and a short female spider in black and yellow with claws coming out of her hands both gave Scarlet MJ a nod, to which the redhead responded back in kind.

_I guess they must be from Scarlet MJ's world. Never met them in my world though, and that younger one looks like she could be Annie's age._

Mayday looked up at the roof, looking as though she was rethinking her life, "It's Tuesday, isn't it? Why do these things always happen on Tuesday…?"

Mary Jane raised an eyebrow, "Is this kind of thing…normal?"

Mayday gave a crazed, strangled laugh, "Oh you have no idea…" she shook her head, "Anyways, what were you saying again?"

"You know what? Never mind."

_This Kingsley guy sounds like a massive ass, but whatever. Most of the supervillains Gwen fights tend to be total pushovers, so I doubt she'd have anything to worry about. Just got to avoid any offers of modeling for this guy is all._

Annie, still looking in the direction from where the Spider-Man in undies and the angry mob had ran to, scrunched up her face in worry, "I hope that other younger daddy will be alright."

Scarlet MJ shrugged, "I'm sure he'll be fine squirt. Curious what he did though to make them all angry though?"

Mayday hand went to her chin as she gave the question consideration, "I'm not sure. I recognized a few of the Spiders there like the Spider-Man of Earth-96282 and the one from Earth-32323 and I've never seen them that angry."

Scarlet MJ tilted her head, "Can't entirely see Cindy acting like that either frankly. Laura yeah, but not Cindy. At least, not without good reason."

Mayday sighed, shaking her head, "Honestly, while I'll admit to being curious, we're really not going to get anywhere speculating unless someone wants to go and ask," she looked around to see no volunteers, "so there's no point in speculating."

None of them knew what to say after that, realizing that Mayday was right. Deciding it was best to change the subject, Mary Jane turned to Spinneret, "So, earlier you mentioned your Peter was Spider-Man right? You never mentioned it, but how exactly did you get your powers anyhow?"

_I'm not jealous, just curious…_

Spinneret looked a bit sheepish, "Oh! I suppose I never did." She proceeded to tell them, with various input by Annie, the story of the villain Regent, how he had captured various heroes and villains and stole their powers and abilities, and how he had ultimately been stopped due to the efforts of herself, her daughter, and her husband, with Spinneret eventually using the same tech to share her husband's powers and fight crime alongside him and their daughter.

Mary Jane had to admit; she did find her counterpart's story interesting. Glancing at Scarlet MJ and Mayday, she noted the later was looking on in interest (MJ guessed the older Annie she mentioned that she fought alongside with had never told her the story), while the former seemed was back to tightening her left-hand and looking stone faced.

Mary Jane sighed at that, somehow not surprised that Scarlet MJ wasn't taking it well.

_Honestly, I'd probably start acting a bit like a jealous b*tch too if I had that Crimson Carnage whatever it's called thing stuck in me and I then had to stand and hear the story of another version of myself be everything I want to be all in one package._

"You alright there MJ?" a voice behind the distracted Mary Jane asked, causing her to jump in fright. She twisted around, to see it was Gwen, an amused look crossing her features. Behind the blonde stood the awkward form of Peter Parker, who gave MJ an uncertain smile, which MJ partially found to be quite fake.

_Guess he still hasn't gotten over the awkwardness from_ _the end of our date._

Gwen's smirk however shifted into a confused frown, "Uh MJ? Why are there three of you?"

Mary Jane raised an eyebrow, "Why do you think?"

Gwen looked confused at first by the question, before she remembered, "Oh right! I guess they must be other versions of you then? You know, I think I remember fighting along side another you when we fought the Inheritors a second time, but I never got the chance to chat with her."

"Right… You done with whatever it is you needed to do?"

Gwen nodded, "Yup. You ready to go?"

Mary Jane nodded, "Let me just say goodbye and I'll be meet you by where we came in."

Gwen agreed, before she and Peter went on their way. Mary Jane watched them go, before she turned to the other two MJ's as well as Annie and Mayday.

"So uh, that was my Gwen…" she gave them all a nod, "I guess that mean's I best start saying goodbye."

Annie looked up at her, looking almost thunderstruck, "W-What! You leaving?! You can't leave yet!"

Scarlet MJ snarked down at the girl, "I think you'll find she very well can." Mary Jane saw that she wasn't even bothering to hide the jealousy and scorn in her tone, leading to Spinneret to frown at Scarlet MJ.

Mary Jane shook her head at Scarlet MJ, "Hey, look I get all that you're a little jealous of -"

"I AM NOT JEALOUS!"

Spinneret looked on in confusion, before Mayday leaned in to whisper in her ear. Mary Jane watched as the older redhead's eye's widened and she looked at Scarlet MJ, seemingly in a new light. It was, Mary Jane noted, both a look of understanding and sympathy, but tinted with a shadow of fear.

_I guess she finally knows about Crimson then…_

Spinneret quietly grabbed her daughters' hand, and pushed Annie behind her, shielding her with her body as she faced Scarlet MJ.

"Mary Jane, you might be surprised, but part of me understands what your going through. For years, I had to watch as my husband risked his life to save others, forever yearning to be able to join him. Yet when the day finally came, and I was able to fight alongside him, I unintentionally became a weakness for him." Spinneret gave a sigh, lost in the memories of her past, "Whenever I fought alongside Peter, I ended up draining his powers, leaving him vulnerable."

Spinneret looked away, "So one day, I accepted help from someone who I thought was a friend, to try and counteract the drain my suit had on my husband's power. Instead, I ended up the host to the Venom symbiote, which had belonged to an enemy of my husbands."

Mayday's breath went sharp at that, while Mary Jane looked at her in confusion. The brunette explained to Mary Jane and Scarlet MJ, "It's the symbiote your Gwen wears, the one she calls Webster. It some world's, like yours, it's a force for good, but in most others…" She left the implication, which both Mary Jane and Scarlet MJ understood.

_In most worlds, this Venom symbiote isn't a good guy. _

Mary Jane had seen her Gwen and the symbiote she was wearing in action, and she shuttered at the idea of her ever having to fight someone wearing it.

Spinneret looked to Scarlet MJ, continuing, "I know what wearing a symbiote who wishes more harm on you than good is like. How it can act as a voice in your head, speaking to you the most terrible things and making you think and do things you'd never imagine doing. It's not a pleasant feeling let me tell you, and it took shear willpower on my part to finally escape it's grasp." She shook her head, "I'm sorry for what you probably have had to go through, considering I know for a fact that the Carnage symbiote is even more vile and evil than Venom ever was. It wouldn't shock me if that thing has forced you to commit untold amounts of murder and carnage to sate it's bloodlust," Scarlet MJ's breath went sharp at that.

_So that's what she was hiding earlier…_

Spinneret nodded, seeing that she had been right on the money, "Mayday told me you said things have gotten better for you since you put that thing on, maybe they have, maybe they haven't. Ultimately that's for you to decide. But let me tell you, if you let that thing consume you, let what it's done to you take over, that's ultimately on you. You don't have to be defined by that thing, not if you don't choose to be."

With that Spinneret tightened her grip on her daughters' hand, and said her farewells to Mayday, Mary Jane, and even the silent Scarlet MJ, before she dragged her daughter away, despite the girl's pleading to stay. Scarlet MJ, still silent, stared off at the direction Spinneret had gone.

"I'm sorry…" she mumbled, mostly to herself. Mayday put a hand on her shoulder, but Scarlet MJ shook it off, and quietly said, "I'm uh…I-I'm going to go look for my G-Gwen and P-Peter. So uh, see you…" With that, she quickly took over, leaving Mary Jane and Mayday to look on sadly in her direction.

"You think she'll be fine?" Mary Jane asked her interdimensional daughter.

Mayday nodded, "Yeah, I think so. Just in case, I think I'll drop in her world to check up on her. I've been meaning to visit her Gwen anyways, to catch up."

Mary Jane nodded, "That's good…" she paused, unsure what to say, before looking up at the brunette, "So I guess I'll be seeing you then?"

Mayday gave her a side glance and nodded, "Sure. I'll try and meet up with you next time I visit your world."

Mary Jane nodded and wished her a final goodbye, before she scrambled on to the hallway they had entered from. Her thoughts were whirling in her head, as the past conversation with her two counterparts and two interdimensional daughters filled her head. Seeing both Mayday and Annie had certainly been weird, and Mary Jane didn't doubt it would make some of her interactions with Peter further awkward. Spinneret, the older version of Mary Jane, while unusual, had certainly been easier to accept than that other Mary Jane, Scarlet MJ.

_God, I hope I never become like that. I feel bad for her and sh*t, but I definitely don't want to be like her._

Shaking her head, Mary Jane finally arrived to find Gwen, standing by the doorway, grimacing at something inside the hallway to where they had first arrived. From this angle MJ couldn't see, but she could certainly hear it, and it was pretty loud. Looking over Gwencent's shoulder to see what the blonde was frowning at, MJ had to do a double take at the strange scene before her.

_What the f*cking hell? _

It was perhaps one of the most chaotic scenes Mary Jane had ever witnessed, consisting of a horrendously drunk half-naked Glory wielding a Spider-Man themed bat, who was fighting alongside the crazed undies wearing Peter from earlier (which MJ, with better clarity, now realized was the Steampunk Spider-Man whom she had talked when she was with Glory), against a mob of angry Spider people. Caesarion, wearing nothing but pieces of his chest armor, looked to equally as drunk as Glory and the Steampunk Spider, was wielding two swords and stabbing at any Spider that came at him.

Behind him was Betty, who was by some miracle somehow managing to hold her own while she was wrestling with the six-armed Spider-Man that MJ had noticed earlier. Next to them was the British Spider-Buggie, who was flashing his lights, honking, and screaming various obscurities as Betty, Glory, and Caesarion. A few other Spiders, including one dressed as a punk and another who had the number five on the spider symbol on his chest, all whom MJ didn't recognize seeing earlier, seemed to have sided with her two friends and the two half-naked historical Spiders in fighting the angry Spider mob.

While this was all going on, the 1602 Spider-Man was yelling out Shakespeare quotes at everyone and anyone who happened to pass by.

_Did…Did Glory and Betty start a riot?_

"W-What the fuck is going on?!" Mary Jane gasped in horror.

Gwen shrugged, looking completely helpless. MJ turned to her, "Aren't we going to help them?"

"You don't think we've already tried?" Gwen nodded at Peter, who was now sporting a black eye. He was trying to cover it with an icepack and wincing. Next to him were two other unmasked Spider-Men, who both looked pained and seemed to be taking a moment to recover. Mary Jane thought neither of them looked like the Peter Parker's she was familiar with.

"Thank god for having a healing factor, right?" Peter said, before he winced again.

Mary Jane rubbed her eyes, debating whether or not it might be safe to go back to Mayday, Annie, and the other versions of her. She finally turned to Gwen, "You sure you don't know what's going on?"

Gwen scratched her head, "Not much. All I know is from what the Spider-Buggie is screaming at between the creative curse words. Something about Betty molesting him and Glory trying to have a threesome in his back seats."

_Wait Glory tried to what?! Why would-Oh god! That stinking wine she and those two Spiders were drinking! F*ck! How strong was that stuff?!_

Mary Jane waved her hand at the horrific scene, "A-And the other pissed off Spiders?"

Gwen shrugged, not knowing the answer.

The five of them were silent for a for a few moments afterward, just watching the chaos unfold before them, before Mary Jane hand enough and finally burst into laughter. Eventually Peter and Gwen joined in, followed by the two other Spider-Men, tears streaming down their eyes as they watch the spectacle before them. Mary Jane whipped the tears from her, "We are never letting them live this down, are we?"

Gwen grinned, watching as the usually mature Glory was forcibly disarmed by a pissed off Spider-Man with a large white spider symbol and another Spider-Man wearing red and black, and shook her head, "No…. No, we are not."

_Let's see Glory try to pull of being the band's mature team mom now! Oh I'm definitely going to wave this over her head forever._

One of the unmasked Spider-Man's kneeling next to Peter, who MJ thought looked more like the guy from Seabiscut than Peter, looked to Gwen, "You know, their probably going to ban you from bringing your friends again."

Another grimace covered Gwen's features, before she sighed. Suddenly, the five of them saw Glory get her bat back and aimed the bat at the Spider-Man in red and black's – they all winced.

_Oh, I think I felt that from here._

"Yeah, we're totally getting banned from here." Mary Jane said, with a wince. The three Spider-Men next to her looked on in pained sympathy for their fellow Spider-Man.

"I might be able to still be allowed to bring you since you haven't done anything," Gwen said with a shake of her head, "but I'm definitely not going to be allowed to bring Glory and Betty again."

MJ nodded, not surprised, seeing as Glory was busy beating the Spider-Man with the white symbol repeatedly with a bat while Betty charged at the Spider-Buggie, roaring, "I WILL HAVE HIM! I WILL HAVE HIM!"

_Jesus, don't these Spider people have Spider-Sense like Gwen does or something? At this rate, Glory and Betty look like they could give all of Gwen's villains a run for their money._

Gwen, looking helpless, changed the conversation as she turned to MJ, "So what'd you think? Of everything else I mean?"

Mary Jane shrugged, a grin on her lips, "I had fun. Though that reminds me, it seems you conveniently forgot to tell me a little important fact about Mayday…"

"W-What about Mayday?"

MJ gave her a look, "Oh I don't know, what was the number she said again? Eighty to ninety percent of all Peter Parkers end up with Mar-"

Gwen raised her hands in surrender, "Okay, okay! I may have forgotten to mention a few details. I was going to through! Eh, eventually."

"Suuuure you were Spider-Gwen, sure you were."

"Hey! To be fair, I'm dead in most universes. You win Peter by default!" One of the unmasked Spider-Men, who MJ thought looked like the guy from that Headbook movie, looked somber at the mention of the deaths of Other Gwen Stacy's.

_Okay, what is it with these two alternate Peter's looking like actors from movies I've watched?_

The redhead shook her head at Gwen, "That doesn't make it bette-"

Mary Jane never got to finish as the two were suddenly startled though when a Spider-Woman in black and white flew and crashed into a wall, not far from them by a Spider-Man with one eye, before he was immediately backflipped by another Spider-Woman, this one with long brown hair and wearing red and white. Said Spider-Woman was then immediately charged at by a bat wielding drunk Glory while the battered Spider-Man with the white symbol seemed like he was refusing to give up as he limped after her.

Mary Jane gave Gwen and Peter a sidelong glance, a grin twisting her features, "Hey, you know if they got any popcorn here by any chance?"


	10. The Legend Arrives

**It's finally here. The chapter about the man, the myth, the legend himself: Frog-Man! I know you've all been waiting for this and just forced yourself through those boring Noir and Gwen chapters, so savor this!**

**...**

**Alright, being serious now. This chapter is pure, unadulterated _cringe_. Somewhat different from the last Frog-Man chapter cringe, but still cringe nonetheless. Eugene's just kinda sad and pathetic in this chapter since now heroes are an expected part of life in V2 and yet he's still stuck being the wannabe. This leads to him coming across as more pathetic than ever.**

**He also has a bit of an inflated ego. This is actually pretty close to canon since in his latest appearance he legit compared himself to Hawkeye (one of the earliest Avengers) and fully believed he was good enough to be Captain Marvel's (Ms. Marvel back then) partner. He even said he'd be calling her Carol soon enough. So yeah, this does kinda reflect negatively on him.**

**On the bright side it does allow me to tie him into the story rather than him having his own 'adventures'. I also toned down some stuff in the interest of making him more sympathetic. **

* * *

"Hey Eugene. I'll have the usual."

Eugene looked up from his phone to find Gwen Stacy with her usual smile, "Oh, sure." He rang up her order practically on autopilot. She always ordered the same thing for her and her friends - caramel for herself, strawberry for the redhead, chocolate chip for the brunette with the glasses and and plain vanilla for Gloria (he shared a class with her). She always paid for all of them and let him keep the change, so she was probably loaded or something.

This time she had a guy friend with her. The guy looked kinda emo: bangs that covered his eyes and a hood pulled up to block almost all of his face from view. He looked really out of place next to her, but Eugene didn't say anything while she grinned and flirted with him. It was none of his business.

She grabbed three of the cups while her boyfriend(?) took the last two and they sat outside to wait for the remaining three members of their group. He recognized them, vaguely. They were the opening show for one of Spider-Woman's charity shows over a year ago. For a while there the band was running high until...nothing. They stopped taking gigs and everyone just forgot about them. Life.

Still, he had to admit they were all lookers. ESU wasn't exactly lacking in that department, but even then a redhead stuck out. He once read a study that red hair was the rarest hair color in the world, especially a darker shade like hers. His red hair was more like something Ron Malfoy had and it didn't help much to make him stick out from the crowd.

He sighed boredly and looked around the cafe. It was the same stuff as usual: couples in corners making out, wannabe directors typing up screenplays and a few college students catching up on their homework. He yawned and looked outside again. It looked like Gwen and the emo guy were having an argument, but again he paid it no mind. Probably just relationship stuff.

Being a barista wasn't as exciting as those sitcoms made you think. There weren't girls who came up to flirt with you and since he was the new guy most of the actual coffee stuff was handled by the senior staff. That was pretty boring too, if the almost dead way they prepared the drinks and pastries was any indication. At least there weren't any fights or anything. It was more or less an unspoken agreement that they just needed the money and getting into pissing matches wouldn't help anyone, meaning they more or less pretended the others didn't exist unless needed.

Sighing again, he told the other person on the counter he was taking his break and trudged to the backroom. So far college hadn't been what he expected. There weren't any wild parties or new thrills for the newcomer from the suburbs. Instead it was a whole lot of studying, making sure he had enough money for his part of the rent and arguing with his dad about whether an engineering track was the right course for him.

He tapped into the (slow) cafe wifi and began browsing the net. There was a new Spider-Woman and Hawkeye vid out, which he bookmarked for later. It was basically just go-pro footage edited just a bit to show off what a normal patrol was like. Supposedly it was for accountability, but he doubted the million plus viewers for every vid really cared about that. It was just _way_ cooler to see Spider-Woman take down some bank robbers for real instead of hearing about it after the fact or from some shaky cam.

Sadly it always ended pretty quickly. 10 to 30 minute vids at most after being uploaded, and despite everyone's best best attempts there were definitely no hints of Spider-Woman's identity or anything outside of the crime being stopped since the vids always ended after the last takedown or after she went out to meet the cops. It was probably why the upcoming Spider-Woman movie (two weeks left!) was so popular; they'd finally get to see the woman behind the mask...more or less.

Eugene did his usual rounds. First going to #justspiderthings (used to be #justspiderwomanthings before people started adding Spider-Girl, Spider-Man and Spinerette stuff in) and then to some of the other hero boards. There wasn't anything new. A few shitposts and sightings, and while there were a few links to some NSFW images and sites he didn't dare open them when anyone could just walk in on him.

As usual, he found his mind wandering. Ever since the Avengers popped up they'd been doing more and more amazing stuff: stopping that superpowered terrorist, defeating H.Y.D.R.A, and even leading the Initiative against and honest to God alien invasion. It was a common joke in the forums that before the year was out they'd either counter invade the Skrulls or stop a demonic invasion.

Speaking of demons...

He went to the spidernews reddit and clicked the top post. It was a blurry picture of Spider-Man on a rooftop dangling someone dressed in a devil costume off the edge. It'd been a year since it happened but the fight between the Defenders and that ape demon thing in Times Square still made the rounds sometimes. After all, it wasn't every day a group of vigilantes ended up killing an actual _devil_.

That caused a _lot_ of religious debates when it came out, especially when the Asgardians came. The Church of Asgard was growing by the day and it hadn't even been a week since the Defenders disbanded(?) before there were people screaming about how it _totally_ wasn't a demon in Times Square. Good thing he wasn't too focused on that religious stuff.

He was kinda bummed that he couldn't help out at any point. He was back home when the Avengers (sans Cap and She-Hulk) fought the terrorist and when the Defenders beat that demon and his suit was ruined when the Skrulls invaded. He could've helped.

Still, the pic definitely got his attention. Was Spider-Man fighting devil worshipers now? He'd been all over the place the past year. Fighting with superheroes in France, helping take down a warlord in South Africa and even getting into a brawl with ninjas over in Shibuya. It was clear he'd been busy the past 12 months and people definitely took notice. He checked on the responses.

**BIGMAN: Yo, so it's confirmed the true hero's back?! YUSSS!**

**LittleBigBeard: Hero? Lol keep dreaming. Guy's just a supervill and Imma laugh when you guys finally see that.**

**BIGMAN: You're just salty he's got a better ass than you, Todd. **

**penman: speaking of do you guys think Spider-Man's still together with spiderwoman?**

**ABCD: Should be, right? She didn't say anything about breaking up.**

He decided to comment.

**EPFrog: Dunno didn't see them together at all since he came back. Maybe they've broken up?**

It wasn't like he _wanted_ them to break up or anything. It was just...well, a year was a long time to be on a break, so _realistically_ it made sense, right? Spider-Woman would be a free agent and would be open to anyone.

And it wasn't like he didn't think Spider-Man was a cool guy - he was - but if he was in his place he wouldn't have left for a whole year doing the long distance thing with someone like Spider-Woman. Besides, Eugene always thought the guy looked better with Spinerette. The two seemed to be good friends judging by some of her comments during interviews.

**SpiritusDude: Dude, she would've said something if there was a break-up. Every time someone asked about him the whole year she basically says they're still together. Cellphones are a thing, ya know?**

**EPFrog: Just saying they could have broken up without telling anyone.**

**Manclaw: even if they did she's probably dating hawkeye or spinerette or something**

He'd definitely considered that. Spider-Woman had mentioned in one of her first interviews that she swung for both teams, which a _lot_ of fanfic writers and horny teenage boys were very happy with. Eugene couldn't say he hadn't stayed up at night thinking about her with Hawkeye or Spinerette. It really helped that Hawkeye admitted she had a major crush on Spider-Woman even before she knew who she was under the mask. It made sense - someone like Kate Bishop would definitely know an heiress, assuming the theory on Spider-Woman storyboarding her own comic origin story was right.

He was about to respond before his coworker Steve popped his head into the break room, "Yo, break time's over!"

"Y-Yeah, coming!"

Work passed by in a boring haze. It was 5 in the afternoon by the time his shift ended and he made his way back to his rented place. The place was decently sized, but considering there were three of them there it still felt cramped.

His roommate, Judge, was reading the living room table and he didn't look up. They weren't friends or enemies; the only reason he even knew the guy's name was cause his name was on the lease. For the most part they ignored each other and the only times they talked was if they needed the other to pay their part of the rent.

The other tenant was Gabriel, the guy he met over at the M&M game. He was friendlier than Judge, though he spent a lot of time out and most nights he didn't even bother coming back. Eugene didn't pay too much attention to it. The guy was nice, sure, but he doubted he got up to anything exciting. He was just Striker's old schoolmate.

Eugene opened the door to his room and turned on the laptop as he took the suit from underneath the bed. College classes meant he only got a few hours at best to do his thing depending on just how much homework the profs loaded him with, "Come on..." He laid the suit down and tapped the touchpad. The damn thing was old, but it was the best he could afford considering his job.

He looked through the bookmarked pages and sighed at the numbers on the screen. 7 subscribers on the youwebs (it was 11 just a couple days ago), 9 tweeter followers, the same number on swiftpound and 2 dollars worth of donations on his adveocate page (even though he'd seen more on just reaction channels..). His recent Frog-Man vid just barely trickled past the double digits and so far he hadn't gotten a response on monetization.

There were links to other, more successful pages. He was was he tapped the screen to close the tab and was accidentally redirected to the tweeter of Michael Van Patrick, better known as MVP. Everyone knew who he was - the new generation's Captain America, an all natural good boy who got to where he was through strict dieting and training. In a lot of ways he was more inspiring than the original. Training and dieting beat a serum; made people think it could be them wearing the red, white and blues one day and being the face of the Initiative.

He wasn't jealous or anything, it was just...kinda annoying - they both didn't have powers and neither did Hawkeye, why couldn't he get to their level? He'd tried to get into the Initiative but he didn't last through the basics and they kicked him out soon after. They did offer to buy the spring boots as a consolation, which his dad was all too happy to accept, so now he wasn't even special for having them. Last he checked some firefighters and construction workers were already getting training for em.

There were a few other tweeter pages - Hawkeye, Striker, Spider-Girl and Spinerette - but of course he was drawn towards Spider-Woman's. Easily over ten million followers - nearing 15 at this point - even though she didn't update much and only occasionally posted a few comments or pics. The last post was from a few days ago: **'Spider-Man's back in town! About time...'** and nothing else. That got a lot of likes and retweets.

Eugene shut off the laptop and put on his costume. He could maybe get a couple of hours of patrolling done if he was lucky. He put on the helmet and walked out. Judge looked up from his book, rolled his eyes with a scoff and quickly went back to reading. He didn't say anything, but Eugene was pretty sure the guy didn't approve. Maybe he was worried that villains would come for payback while he was in? He didn't keep his secret identity hidden, after all.

He taped the go-pro to his mask as soon as he was outside and he jumped. He'd gotten way better at using the springs, though he did still have the occasional hiccup. He thought at least the footage of the jumps would get some views, but apparently people were much more interested on Spider-Woman's swinging or Hawkeye's parkour rather than him.

Patrol was...uneventful, which was a (sadly) common thing. He tended to keep his patrols pretty close to campus, so there was little chance of him running into a Supervill of some kind most days - and the few times he did someone else usually stopped them before he could psyche himself up to join in. So far he'd gotten to talk to a few of the Initiative graduates like that guy Xorn, but not Spider-Woman, oddly enough.

His mind wandered again. Spider-Woman...they hadn't talked since she joined them on patrol with the rest of the (now disbanded) Protectors. Cypher graduated and got a job, Slyde went back to being a villain (if you could even call him that), Tarot was too busy with school and Eye Scream split off because he thought he could be more popular as a solo hero.

He saw her around the city sometimes, but she was always out of sight before he could say anything. Trying to message her on tweeter never got him a response. He wasn't surprised; she probably got thousands of people trying to message her every day. It was still disappointing, though. All he said was he wanted to see if she was willing to team up again now that he was solo.

The sun was almost gone when he saw it. A couple of teenagers trying to break into a car. They didn't look armed so, with a deep breath to psyche himself up, Eugene jumped down, "Hey!" Both of them turned towards him and he continued before they could say anything, "You know it's not nice to steal, so just give up if you know what's good for you!" He did his best to make his voice deep and menacing.

It didn't get the reaction he wanted.

The teenager to the left, some guy in a brown hoodie who looked as pale as a sheet, started laughing. The teenager to the right, not as pale but far more lanky and wearing a red t-shirt, just turned to friend and gestured towards Eugene, "Uh, this guy serious?"

"I-I'm very serious!" Eugene screamed, "Some guy worked hard to get that car, so you don't have any right to steal it!"

Pale dude finally stopped laughing, "Man, fuck off! We know all about the heroes on this block and you ain't one of em! Get outta here before you get hurt, Frog boy!" Okay, he had to admit _that_ hurt. So what if he wasn't a member of the Initiative? Spider-Man wasn't and criminals wouldn't talk shit to _him_. Eugene took a deep breath and stepped closer with his head held high.

Lanky guy rolled his eyes, "Really, dude, fuck off. We ain't got time to deal with wannabe assholes."

Eugene threw the first punch. It did make lanky guy stumble back a bit, but it didn't take long for him and pale dude to hit back. A minute later and Eugene was on the ground getting the hell (and his lunch) stomped out of him. The suit muffled their blows at least slightly, but he was still screaming and groaning in pain from the hits. At the back of his mind he could only think about how familiar this all was.

Lanky guy stopped kicking him and turned to his head, "Hey, you sure he ain't one of them heroes? I don't want any revenge trips from his buddies."

Right, the 'unspoken rules'. Ever since the Initiative Program kicked into high gear and heroes became a more accepted part of life criminals wised up. Initiative Heroes were encouraged not to kill criminals unless the circumstances were dire, so that meant most law breakers tried to avoid killing the heroes in turn or roughing them up too badly. Crippling or, god forbid, killing an Initiative Hero meant their cheesed off buddies put the killswitch up and most people didn't want to deal with a superhero once they didn't care if they broke your neck.

Unfortunately for Eugene, that didn't apply to him.

"Nah, I looked at the list. Ain't no loser in a frog suit on it." Pale dude reared his leg back and Eugene shut his eyes as he braced himself for the hit.

*Thwip*

Pale dude screamed and when Eugene opened his eyes again he found him hanging upside down from a nearby lightpost, "Shit!" Lanky guy's eyes were wide and he turned to run to the alley, leaving his friend behind. He didn't get far before a barrage of webbing hit him in the back and pinned him to the floor till there was nothing he could do but struggle and scream against the ground.

"Wh-Wha-"

"You alright?" Eugene looked up to the source of the voice and almost scrambled back when he Spider-Woman looking down at him. This wasn't how he wanted to meet her again! God, this was embarassing... "Uh, can you stand or do you need me to take you to a hospital?" She tilted her head slightly (damn, it looked cute) and offered him a hand, "Cause I can totally swing us over if-"

"I-I'm good!" Eugene gratefully accepted the offered hand and she pulled him up effortlessly.

"You sure? By the time I got here it looks like they've been beating on you for a while."

"N-Nah, it was...I'm okay." His nose was bleeding, he was pretty sure, and there'd be bruises for the next couple weeks, but he was still standing.

"Alright, well, I should probably-"

"W-Wait!" He cried out suddenly, "D-Don't you need my, like, statement or something? For what they did."

"Huh? I could just call the cops-"

"B-But you're already here and you can do it." Did he sound too desperate? Hopefully not.

"O...kay. Well, I guess it'd save the boys in blue some time. Sure, let's do it. " She laughed softly. He'd never heard her laugh before, "But if you insist on staying we should probably get you some ice, at least. Come on, I know a store near here."

They (she) bought an icepack, tissues and a couple of sodas at the nearby convenience store. The cashier's eyes were wide and she immediately asked Spider-Woman for a selfie...and basically pretended like he didn't exist when he asked if she wanted one with him too. Ouch, but he expected that with Spider-Woman in the room. Anyone would've been an extra if they were in the same room as her.

"Can you jump? I'd rather not talk about it on street level." She gestured to the staring citizens.

"I-I'm not sure. Maybe they broke something?"

"You asking or telling me?" She waved a hair through the air casually before offering that same hand towards him, "Grab on. I can take us up."

He took her hand in a shaky grip and before he knew it they were flying through the air. Eugene didn't really have enough time to process it - one second they were on the ground and the next they were on a rooftop far high enough that people could video them, "Should be good here." She sat on a vent and put the assorted stuff to her right, "Might wanna take off your mask. It's...kinda busted."

Eugene took the mask off and groaned at the left eye that had popped right out, "Dang it." His dad definitely wouldn't fix it; he didn't like the idea of him doing this. Sighing, Eugene sat on the vent next to the plastic bag and dabbed at his nose with one hand while the other held an ice pack to his eye. Spider-Woman just waited and texted on her phone, though she made sure the screen was out of sight...not that he was going to peek or anything.

Eventually the bleeding stopped and she pocketed the phone...somehow, "Here." She handed him one of the cans of soda and raised her mask halfway up to her nose so she could take a drink. He was kinda disappointed she didn't take it off all the way, "You're staring. Got something on my face?" She smiled lightly. Her lips were wet and glistening from the soda and his mind wandered to where else they could be-

"Ah, no! Just...nothing." He tentatively sipped at his own soda and stared down at the can. God, why was he such a loser? This was just like when he (and Spider-Man) visited him (technically his dad) a year ago.

"Right...so, your statement?" She tapped the side of her mask. Was she recording?

"Oh!" He self-conscious wiped his upper lip, "Yeah...uh, those guys down there were trying to steal that car. I-I tried to tell them to stop and they just-" Laughed in his face, "-uh, they didn't stop. So I got closer and it turned into a fight."

She tapped the side of her mask again, "Carjackers, huh? Guess you can't beat the classics." She finished off her soda and set it between them, "Well, I dropped off a call earlier so I'll drop the recording on the police station when I head home."

"Oh, cool!" Ugh...kill him now, "So...hey, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure. What's up?"

"How do you..." He paused, trying to find the words, "You mentioned before that you were in college, right?" It still amazed him that someone like her was basically the same age as him. She should've been 22 now, he thought. She said she was 21 in the interview last year.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Like...how do you the normal stuff? Like, fighting crime and doing tests at the same time."

"It's...a bit of a struggle sometimes." She put a leg up put her head on the knee, "It's better now that there are more Initiative heroes running around. During the training program it was really hard keeping things balanced. Actually I almost failed one of my classes." She laughed again, "But eventually I got through it. Dad and...mom helped out when they could."

"Why are in college anyway? You're already an Avenger." And she made a buttload of cash in merch. The constant donations under various charities proved that and last he checked the Avengers were being bankrolled by both Starktech and Dynecorp.

"Why not?" She grinned, "I always wanted to see what college was like and I think I deserve a little bit of normal. Besides, the stuff I'm learning could help me out. Not the supervill class, those are inaccurate as hell, but the criminal psychology stuff's good."

"Huh..." Least she knew what she wanted.

She lowered her mask back down, "Well, I gotta go. Take care of-"

He didn't know what made him ask his next question. It was out of his mouth before he could stop himself.

"Are you and Spider-Man still going out?"

The eyes of her mask shifted to copy a raised eyebrow, "Uh...yeah? Why?"

"Ah, that's..." He gulped nervously. He didn't know the _why_ of it, he just asked, "I...I'm just wondering. Cause, ya know, he took off for like a year and I thought that maybe he's just-"

"I love him." His rambling died off as she sat next to him again, "We've been through a lot. I can honestly say that there's no one else I'd rather be with and I'm sure he feels the same. Did I like him leaving for a whole year? Of course not, but I understand why he did it and he's here now. Do I really have to advertise that we love each other just so people can stop asking about it?" Annoyance seeped into her tone at the end.

"N-No, it's just...did you ever think about going with anyone else? Besides Spider-Man?"

"I don't like thinking in what-ifs; always leaves me second guessing myself. Point is he's here now, I'm together with him and for the first time in a long while we're _happy_. It's as simple as that." She sighed and pulled up her hood, "Look, I really should go. I gotta talk to my dad about something big."

"Oh, sure..." He looked down at can of soda and swallowed, "Hey, could we team up again? You know, just a couple of heroes going on patrol."

"Uh...sure, I guess." She fished out a card from her pocket and handed it to him, "Here's my prioricard number. Just tap it if you really need help and I'll come swinging, guaranteed." She gave him an (oddly dorky) thumbs up.

"Yeah, cool." He rubbed the card between his fingers, "Thanks for this, it's really cool. But um...could I...have your number? You know, just to keep in contact," he said casually.

She was quiet for a moment before she suddenly breathed out, "...Look, let's not do this."

"What are you-"

"You like me." He opened his mouth to protest and she cut him off, "Look, I'm not dumb. You've got every sign of someone with a hero crush. On the one hand it's cute, on the other I really need to tell you that you should move on. I'm happy with Peter, and honestly I'm _tired_ of getting messages from needy, entitled people ranting about how I should just 'give them a chance' or that 'Spider-Man's no good for you'. What I do with my personal time is my business, not theirs."

"B-But I do like you! It's not just a hero crush!"

She looked at him without a word and then asked, "Alright, tell me one thing about me that you didn't just pick up off from an interview. Just one."

"What? Uh...I dunno, um..."

"If you saw me without my mask would you even know who I was?"

"Well...no, cause I've never seen you without a mask."

"Exactly. Another question then: who do you think I am?"

"Huh? Well...you're Spider-Woman."

"And I guess you think I really own a mansion and I'm a model, right?" Well...not exactly. He doubted it was true, but she must've had an awesome life even outside the mask. Just look at Felicia Hardy or Kate Bishop; a popstar and an heiress turned superheroes even without powers, "Eugene, I'm not this...flawless hero people love to prop me up as. Those first two years were utter hell and sometimes I couldn't even get out of bed cause of how depressed I was. People are in love with the _idea_ of Spider-Woman, that's it. They don't care about who I am under the mask."

"But-"

"All you've seen is Spider-Woman and that's not all who I am, the same way Peter's not just Spider-Man the vigilante with the guns. We've talked, what, three times in total? How could you have more than a hero crush on someone when all you know about them is what you've seen on interviews?"

Eugene didn't - couldn't - say anything.

"I'm sorry if I'm being harsh, but I've dealt with this before and I'm dealing with it now from one of my best friend's little sis, so I'm not in the mood for another swing around. Find someone else, maybe a friend you're hanging out with." She paused, "Oh, and go to the hospital, please? That beating looked kinda nasty."

She swung away. Eugene just looked down at the prioricard and didn't say a word. A part of him knew that she was right, but another part felt a little resentful. Of course he didn't know her- he never got the chance to. He was over there in stepford suburbia getting crapped on cause his dad tried to rob a diner in a stupid frog suit and Spider-Woman stopped him. If he was here he could've helped her out...

He pocketed the card and put the mask back on. The go-pro was banged up but still working but who'd want to see a video of him getting his butt kicked? "Damn it..." He stood and tried to ignore the lingering soreness. This entire thing was a wash. Not only did he get his ass beat but he mad a complete turd of himself in front of Spider-Woman. A shitty way to end a shitty day.

He walked around aimlessly. A few people turned to stare at first but eventually they stopped paying attention him; probably thought he was a mascot doing a promotion or something. A part of him wanted to just go back to the apartment, but another larger one just wanted to find some way to forget the past quarter of an hour and re-do everything.

Eventually he noticed that people were stopping to stare and point at something above. He turned to follow and gaped when he saw it: a figure in a red and dark blue costume with long red hair whipping in the wind. Eyecatching enough on her own, but the fact that she was crouched on the side of a building made sure that everyone who saw her couldn't take their eyes away.

And then she jumped.

She rushed down to the ground and, for a brief moment, he thought that she'd crash into the pavement. He prepared himself to jump and catch her when she suddenly turned around mid-fall and shot two lines of blood red webbing towards the building. She propelled upwards and flew towards one of the main roads. She shot another line of webbing and swung away.

Eugene followed. He had no idea why; his body was practically moving on autopilot. She was still swinging through the road, jumping on the roofs of cars and trucks and even using flagpoles to propel herself upwards. Eugene jumped as high as he could and watched as she jumped between the walls of two buildings and ran along the windows of a nearby office building before swinging out of sight.

"Wow..." That was Scarlet Spider, right? Different costume, but who else could it have been? He sat at the edge of the building and just thought about it. There were a lot of Spiders coming out recently, so someone must've been making them, right? Maybe he could call Spider-Woman's prioricard and ask her? She said it was a radioactive spider and it didn't work anymore, but maybe there was something else. With that thought in his head, he stood up and nodded.

And then he heard an explosion.

It was far enough that he was safe, but he couldn't stop himself from following the sound. When he got to the mostly deserted street he found himself in front of an office building with a huge chunk of rubble at the front.

"What the heck?"

Three figures jumped out. The first one - Spider-Man, he realized blankly - shot a line of white webbing behind him so he could slow his descent. The other one, a woman who looked like a Halloween scarecrow ninja, stabbed a sword to the and used it to slide down while her other hand held onto a guy in a devil costume like he didn't even weigh anything.

Spider-Man landed first with the ninja following soon afterwards. He stood up from his crouch and looked back at the burning floor, "Damn it, should've known Gao would set the place to blow..." He growled and looked towards the crowd (and him). Most of them had the bright idea to run, though at least a couple stayed to either gape or take pictures and video, "Show's over, folks."

The ninja slung Devil Dude over her shoulder and nudged her head. Spider-Man growled again, "Well what do you want me to do? Can't exactly take him to the hospital."

"Maggie's church..." Devil Dude said weakly.

"And just how are we supposed to..." He looked back to Eugene and when he looked around he found that everyone else had finally decided to leave. It was just the four of them now, "Patillio, I said show's over. Get outta here."

"D-Do you need help?" They looked like they needed help. Devil Dude was bleeding and they were covered head to toe in dust and flecks of blood.

"Not unless you're a doctor."

"I-I could call an ooper for you guys. You need to get somewhere, right?"

"...Fine, but we should probably get outta here before the cops come. ...And thanks."

He called his preferred driver and he got there in record time. They all piled in, though Eugene was forced to sit in front because of the size of his costume. Eugene looked up at the to the rear view mirror. Spider-Man was poring through some papers at the rightmost seat while Devil Dude leaned against the window and pressed an arm against his bleeding neck. Ninja lady looked down until her head suddenly jerked up to meet his gaze on the mirror. Eugene promptly looked away.

Francis (the ooper driver) paid them no mind. Apparently he wasn't paid enough to deal with 'superhero shit' and said he'd keep his mouth shut if they gave him a five star review. Spider-Man gave him an extra 100 hundred dollars just in case.

They were close to the church when Spider-man finally spoke up, "Thought you said you could take care of yourself?" he said to Devil Dude.

"We all have our limits. After all, _I'm only human_." He laughed at that. Spider-Man clicked his tongue and looked back out to the dark window.

"That's still debatable." He scoffed, "Who the hell did that to you, anyway?"

"Oh, are you worried about my safety, Peter? You _do_ care about me!" He grinned despite the blood.

"You know what, I don't care. Whoever it was I owe him a drink." He got the feeling Spider-Man didn't like Devil Dude, which didn't seem to be reciprocated given how DD kept smiling.

"If you wish." DD shrugged with one shoulder and nudged his head to lady ninja, "Still, you are full of surprises, aren't you? "

"What the hell are you talking about? She's with you."

"Oh? I thought she was with you. I don't have any domain over the Black Sky. Not anymore, at least." Eugene looked up at the rear view mirror again. Black Sky? Sounded like some kind of perfume, "Though, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. You always did have a knack for inspiring loyalty even in the unlikeliest of individuals."

"Tch..."

They got to the church. Eugene took off his mask and got out shakily followed by Spider-Man and the others. Spider-Man let out a slow, tired breath while black sky ninja lady slung Devil Dude's arm around her shoulder.. She hadn't said a word the entire time and it was pretty creepy, "Back room..." Devil Dude pointed a shaky finger to the church, "Maggie will ensure I don't bleed out."

"Come on then."

Eugene awkwardly followed them inside. The place looked worn out and not really someone he'd leave a person bleeding out. They were halfway through the large room when he asked, "Hey, so isn't this that guy's place? Uh, Mr. Negative-"

"_Don't_ call him that." Spider-Man's sudden snarl made Eugene shrink back. It was kinda silly. If he did the math right then they were the same age, so why did he feel like a kid next to him? They weren't that different. They both put on costumes and went out to try and help people. Heck, if he had powers too he was pretty sure he could do most of the same stuff he did.

"S-Sorry..." Eugene mumbled.

"...It's fine. Sorry for snapping at you." He sighed, "Come on, let's get this over with."

Ninja lady handed DD over to Spider-Man and, after some obvious annoyance, he took him to the back room while she stood guard outside. Eugene made to follow them inside before she suddenly shoved him back, "H-Hey, what's the big idea?" She crossed her arms and didn't say a word. Eugene tried to step past her again and she shoved him back harder this time.

What the heck?

"I'm just trying to-" He stepped forward and she suddenly unsheathed her sword and pressed the edge of it right up against his neck. Eugene's blood ran cold and he put his hands up in a panic, "Hey, hey! Woah! T-T-Take it easy!" She still didn't say anything and the patchwork mask with noticeable stitches only added to how scary the entire thing was. She could slit his throat and he wouldn't be able to do anything.

Spider-Man stepped out of the backroom and stopped when he saw them, "The hell are you doing?" She turned towards him and pressed the blade harder against Eugene's neck. He stopped breathing; didn't want to risk it, "He's not a threat."

She made the smallest sound - some kind of grunt - before she pulled the sword away and put it back on its sheath, "...Sorry about that. Still trying to figure out what her deal is." Spider-Man said. He faced her, "You gonna stay here?"

She nodded and and knelt down in a meditation pose with her head faced downwards. Spider-Man sighed and nudged his head to the entrance and Eugene followed, heart still ringing in his ears. That was way too close.

Spider-Man handed him some bills when they got to the entrance, "Here, for the driver and helping us out. Take care of yourself."

He turned and began to walk away. Eugene shouted, "H-Hey wait." He turned back and looked at him, his expression unreadable underneath the mask, "Wh-What happens now?"

"Now? 'Daredevil' has to make sure he doesn't bleed out and I got some files to give to a friend." He shook a USB stick, "After that, who knows."

"So that's it? What am I supposed to do?"

"Uh...what the hell are you talking about?" He tilted his head slightly.

"I mean, I'm in it now, right? I should help."

"Ain't looking to make another team, Patillio." He scoffed, "You helped us out, yeah, so thanks for that, but this ain't an audition. Best you get home if you know what's good for you."

"Hey, come on!" Eugene stepped in front of him to block his way, "Just give me a chance, man! I know I don't have any powers but Black Cat and Moon Knight didn't have any either and-"

"Are you ready to die?" He still couldn't see his expression, but Eugene could feel the harshness of the other teenager's gaze. He shrunk back, "Answer the question. Are you ready to die?"

"W-Well...that's not..."

"This isn't a game, Patillio. I lost a friend to these bastards and they don't play by the rules you think they do. That woman inside? She was one of them. You think she's one of the good guys and she nearly slit your throat without even thinking about it. This ain't the adventure you're looking for."

"But _you_ do it..." And so did Striker and she was younger than he was.

"I don't do it for fun. You think it was flawless for me? I got the hell beat out of me more times than I can count, I watched one of my closest friends die in front of me when all I could do was beg...I _died_, Patillio. Wasn't exactly a fun time for any of us." He still remembered that vid. Spider-Woman holding and hugging him and begging him not to go, "Trust me, you don't want in this."

"I just..." He just wanted to help. He _could_ help. He and Spider-Man - Peter Parker - weren't that different. Both of them were unpopular geeks who got bullied and then put on a mask afterward. Sure some details in-between were different, but Spider-Man wasn't any better than him. If Spider-Man could do it then he could too, right? Powers weren't everything.

"Go home, and hope you never run into any of us again."

He rounded the corner out of sight. Eugene chased after him only to find nothing but an empty street, "But I can..." He sighed and called another ooper to pick him up to take him back home.

By the time he got there Judge was gone, probably asleep in his room, "Home sweet home..." He sat down on the couch costume and all and closed his eyes. Should he call Spider-Woman? No, too soon. He didn't wanna come across as too desperate. He could ask her for a team-up once he fixed his costume and then maybe just slip it into conversation that he was interested in getting Spider powers. She'd give him a heads up, right?

A sudden ringing on the table jolted him out of his thoughts. He looked down and gaped like a fish when he saw the name 'Striker' on the screen followed by a picture of a grinning Striker herself making a peace sign. He hadn't seen that picture before - she wasn't even in her costume - so where did Gabriel get it?

Gabriel stumbled out of the bathroom and grabbed it just as Eugene was about to reach out, "Shit, sorry for the noise!" He smiled at him apologetically and answered the phone. A few words were exchanged (he couldn't hear Striker's end) and soon enough he cut the call, "Sorry about that again. Didn't mean to interrupt your sleep."

"It's...It's cool." Eugene said, "So, uh, you're friends with Striker?"

"With Lana? Y-Yeah, I guess." He smiled slightly, "Speaking of, she said Spinerette called us over. Something about the girl she and Spider-Girl rescued a couple of days ago." Oh yeah, he saw that on the news. Mayor Hollister was so proud that his daughter stopped those human traffickers.

"Sp-Spinerette? But, why did they call you too?"

"Uh...can you keep a secret?" Eugene could only nod blankly, "Right, so I kinda-sorta snuck into some place I shouldn't have and got some info on where that deal was that Lana and Spider-Girl crashed." Eugene still didn't say a word, "So now I guess Spinerette wants to see if I know anything else? Dunno why her, though. There weren't any Supervillains there from what Lana told me..."

Eugene was still stunned silent. Gabriel Reyes, the guy who didn't even have a _costume_, was on a first name basis with Striker and helped her out in her hero work? Why didn't he say anything before? He could've helped her out too!

"So I really gotta go. Sorry again for the noise." Gabriel grabbed his backpack and was out the door before he could say anything. Eugene didn't even have to think before he put on his mask again and followed Gabriel out. He didn't have any luck with Spider-Woman or Spider-Man, but Striker he could definitely help. She wasn't much more experienced than him so she couldn't turn away the help.

* * *

**Yeah, _cringe_. This was actually somewhat hard for me to write since writing egotistical weaklings who are still supposed to be sympathetic/not completely hated is pretty new to me. Matt is far simpler despite his twisted character because I'm not worrying whether he's sympathetic or not, which is relaxing.**

**And like I said before I toned down some stuff. Most notably I removed Eugene's daydreams of him being in the middle of a harem consisting of Gwen, Lana, Spinerette etc etc or him rubbing one out to NSFW Spider-Woman fanart. It wouldn't be odd for a hormonal young man to think these thoughts or do those things, but I figured it'd be too much and just make the audience think he was a creep. **

**...Oh, and MJ's having her own version of What's up Danger now that she has a new costume :P Can't wait to get back to her.**

**Questions:**

**1\. What do you guys think of Cindy being Laura's 'mom'? That was totally unplanned and I only put it in there cause people kept asking about Laura and Shadowcat and I wonder how well it came across given that Cindy never interacted with them the previous volume.**

**Following up on that, do you guys want more focus on these segments? I can do that but this means losing new characters Jean De Wolfe and Ben Grimm since Laura and Shadowcat would take their screentime.**

**2\. Should I make Cindy less gun focused? A friend pointed out how odd it was that someone as strong as pre-Venomized Gwen defaults to guns rather than melee like you'd think.**

**3\. I know some people have said it, but would you guys actually be interested in a Murdock/Mary Jane kind of thing? I personally don't care for it but as a writer I could definitely see the plot potential. Bonus points if I add Felicia gunning for MJ for _the_ most fucked up love triangle in the story. I don't like romance, but the sheer dysfunction of this would be pretty hilarious.**

**Review Answers:**

**Eudera - Couldn't be revived by the Beast. The Hand are searching for other ways to resurrect. **

**SpiderGod766 - Matt's already been obsessed with Peter from day one and he (technically) was the one to free him from the Beast. And yes, Sleeper has nacho cheese sauce so I'm not using it.**

**Raymond49090rc - Matt's behavior and character are still pretty...off. He's a sadist, for example, which doesn't bode well.**

**Bagration - Matt's the good guy in this scenario, though, so why support Bullseye?**

**Brave2000 - If you mean if Bullseye's still a cheery psychopath or not, then yes, he's still cheery. Think of him more like 616 Bullseye.**

**Noisy-Cricket - How did he make it awkward? Is flirting with Peter any different than when they had that steamy dinner? ;) **

**Chaos4Ever - Huh...maybe Eugene should hang around Peter more - it might end with him becoming a legitimate hero. I mean freaking _Gabriel_ ended up turning into a Watch Dogs hero, for freak's sake. As for the symbiote's food choice, that comes later.**


	11. City Never Sleeps (and neither do they)

**Fast update. I wanted to wash down the Frog-Man cringe with something somewhat less cringy. It's still kinda bad, but at least the characters aren't nearly as egotistical and unsympathetic.**

**The MJ/Matt/Felicia romance has really taken off given recent reviews with half of the readers being all for it and the other half thinking it's a trainwreck waiting to happen. Some others still want a Peter/MJ/Gwen polyamorous relationship or even Peter to cheat on Gwen with MJ(!). That last one definitely caught me by surprise. **

**Endgame's coming in 5 days where I'm at :D Let's go!**

* * *

If someone told Lana a year ago she'd be friends with Susan Storm she'd have laughed in their face.

Contrary to popular belief she wasn't one of those eat the rich proleteriats (Pete taught her that word) who raged against the rich and some invisible system. Assholes were assholes, didn't matter if you had a Lamborghini or you couldn't even afford a cab. She wasn't delusional enough to think that people who struggled sang around the campfires singing kumbaya. Some of the biggest dicks she knew barely had a cent to their name and it had nothing to do with how much cash they (didn't) have.

Back then she didn't think about Sue Storm, not any more than President Howard T. Duck or Spider-Woman. She was just someone on the billboards and gushed about by her classmates because of something funny that happened on the (recently ended) Fantastic 4.

So ending up at her fancy penthouse drinking (non-alcoholic) apple cider was definitely still somewhat of a surprise to her. It wasn't the first time she'd been here, but even then she felt like an alien sitting on the fancy couch that probably cost more than her entire old apartment. Even now she still wasn't used to this. She missed her modest apartment, missed the kitchen being so close to her bedroom that she could smell the bacon when her mom cooked (they alternated every day) and hear her off-key singing.

"Lana? Are you alright?"

Lana shook her head quickly and smiled at Sue, "Yeah, sorry, just kinda tired. What'd you say?" She thanked small mercies Sue lived alone ever since her 17th birthday. Last thing Lana needed was Sue's horndog of a brother trying to grab at her tits now that puberty was hitting him like a bitch. He had his fangirls to perv on.

"I was actually asking if you were alright. You seemed...distracted lately."

"Oh...yeah." She took a sip from her cider and almost coughed it out. She definitely wasn't used to this stuff, "Just...thinking about the usual crap. I mean if it's not school it's about my other job." Thank _God_ school decided to cut out for the next couple of days. There was a Supervill attack fifteen blocks away and one of the prissy witches complained about how 'they were practically brushing against death!' so the school decided to give them a break. Lana wasn't complaining, but she knew they'd get a shitload of homework to make up for it.

"Need to vent?" Sue smiled over the rim of her glass. If some her old Midtown High classmates saw her now they would've either kissed her ass to get an intro or accuse her of being a sellout - hell, she knew that for a fact considering Brooke immediately messaged her on headbook about the 'good old times' when Sue shared a picture the two of them took on her tweeter. And then of course she'd 'nonchalantly' mentioned that her followers would love if she did a meet and greet with Sue.

She didn't respond. Most of em ditched her and treated her like shit when she needed them so they could go suck a fat one.

"I guess." Lana set her glass down, "It's just...there's this girl, Aracely. Me and Anya and Gabe saved her from these human shitstains down at the docks and now I think she's going to be deported to Mexico. I mean, that's not my business, I already saved her, but..." But she couldn't stomach the idea of it. The girl didn't remember anything from her past. No family, no home...she'd be dead within the week given what Lana knew of her.

"There's nothing you could do?"

"I dunno. I could maybe talk to William, but I don't like the idea of her breathing only as long as he thinks he can milk her for sympathy points." Technically her friendship with Sue was the same. She was America's Sweetheart, after all, and it was so 'inspiring' (and marketable) whenever the two were caught together. The little poor girl who got powers and now she was an upstanding hero. Nevermind the fact that William was fine ignoring her for 15 fucking years.

"Do you want me to see if I can do something on my end?"

"Ah, no, it's fine. I'll think of something..." Maybe she could ask Cin about it? She was with the cops and she knew for a fact that she was still talking to her old S.H.I.E.L.D buddies, so that might have worked...

"You know I could help if you gave me a chance..." Sue mumbled. She probably hadn't meant for Lana to hear it.

"Alright, you sound like you're going through an emo thing. What's going on?"

"Wh-What? It's nothing!" Lana crossed her arms and just stared at her. She didn't say a word; she knew Sue would crack. The blonde fidgeted in her seat and, after a moment of hesitation, she spilled, "A-Alright, it's just...don't think I'm being dumb, okay?" No promises, she didn't say, "It's...I hear you talking about all the things you're doing and I can't help but feel like we're growing distant."

"Uh..." This wasn't how she expected this to go.

"You have these friends who help you with the dangerous things you put yourself through and all I can do is just watch and hope that you don't get in over your head. I'm not like those people who look at you in awe. The things you do are dangerous and sometimes I...I dread thinking that maybe one day your luck'll run out and then I'd lose you."

Lana couldn't say anything. She knew the hero gig was dangerous. She wasn't like the Mask Chasers who thought this was all fun and games and beating up bad guys in dumb costumes. She could die, and she nearly had more times than she wanted to think about. Too many times there'd been a knife that almost cut through skin or a bullet that whizzed by inches from her head. It was odd how numbed she'd become to it. It didn't even make her heart race anymore.

Lana said the first thing she could to dispel the heavy atmosphere.

"So...is this the part where you come out of the closet?" Sue's face was blank for a second before her eyes widened and her face looked more like a blonde tomato, "Cause I should probably tell you now that I'm not really into chicks and that stalker shrines are a dealbreaker-"

"Th-That's not what I meant!"

"Oh? Cause here I was looking forward to screaming about our love."

"Y-You know I like Gabriel!" Yeah, that still made her laugh. America's Sweetheart had a crush on the former weed dealer turned amateur hacker vigilante. Apparently it started when Gabe tracked down a crazy, obsessed prick cyber stalking and threatening her for 'being a disloyal slut. He made sure the cops found out and the guy was put away for long time.

Gabe didn't even tell her about it - MVP just mentioned it off-hand once and the blonde was smitten ever since. Poor Gabe didn't even know; Sue didn't tell him anything.

"Huh? So what were those longing looks all abo-"

"Lana!" Lana raised her head and laughed, completely ignoring Sue's 'glare', "I was being serious!"

"I know, but you really need to stop bugging about it!" Lana snorted, "Look, I'm not going to pretend that I haven't come _really_ close sometimes, but that's just part of being Striker. I'm not going to spend every day worrying that maybe this time I won't be so lucky. You shouldn't think about it either. I don't plan on dying anytime soon, alright?"

Sue still looked hesitant, but she eventually nodded, "O-Okay."

"Good. So, let's change the subject cause I've had enough drama for today."

"Um...alright, so..there's this new role I've been encouraged to take." The blush didn't fade from Sue's cheeks. Not a good sign, "It's...more risque than my usual, but my agents think it's a good thing. I'm 17 now and they wanna start putting me in more...enticing roles, if that's the word? They said they want to wean off the America's Sweetheart reputation now that I'm getting older."

"Makes sense, I guess?" Sex sells. Didn't matter if it was a celebrity in a bikini or a prostitute sucking you off in an alley; people paid either way, "So what's the role?"

"I'm supposed to play the lead villainess. She's a sexpot baroness type. You know what I'm talking about?" She didn't, but Lana nodded all the same, "Right, well, they sent me the costume a couple of days ago and the props to go with and I'm...I'm still not sure I like the idea of people seeing me wearing it."

"Please, have you looked out the window lately? No one has any shame anymore." Except Pete. If there was one thing he could agree with Spider-Gwen about, it was how much of a shame it was that he didn't like skintight material.

"Maybe..." She bit her lower lip, "Could I show you? Appearing in front of a friend might help me psyche myself up."

"Sure- oh, wait, maybe I should call Gabe over first?" Lana grinned.

"N-No! That's-"

"I'm just kidding! Yeesh, just go change into your dominatrix outfit. I'll be here."

As it turned out, dominatrix outfit wasn't far off the mark. Sue stepped out of the room wearing a skintight ensemble that looked like it was almost painted on her. The top was zipped up just enough for her boobs and midriff to still be on display and the heeled boots and ass chafing pants looked like they cut off the blood flow to her legs. It almost reminded her of Black Cat's outfit.

Oh, and of course there was the fucking _whip_, which Sue was holding in a way that made it obvious she was resisting the urge to chuck it out the window into the unforgiving streets below.

Sue made a 'villainous' pose and Lana almost burst out laughing, "S-So, what do you think?" Sue asked softly.

"...Are you sure you're not gay? Cause between the confession and that whip I'm really starting to-"

Sue threw it right at her face. Lana ducked to avoid the flying leather and laughed as Sue glared down at her, "Pfft, is-is that your evil look?! C-Cause I'm shaking in my boots!" Sue continued to futilely try and glare down at her before eventually the absurdity of the situation made her laugh too. Lana was glad. For a big time celebrity the girl could be a major wallflower.

Eventually Sue calmed down enough to sit down next to Lana, "So you see my issue." Sue looked down at her outfit with a frown, "I know acting is about taking up multiple roles, but this is just..._ugh_, I feel like the only reason I'm wearing this is because it'll make teenage boys flock to the theatres."

"Probably is." Thank God Lana scrapped her own first design. Hotpants were definitely _not_ the way to go, "Still, can't you just complain to your manager or something?"

"Mmh, Victor already tried, but the director was insistent on this. I could just quit, I guess, but I really don't want to just give up." Her shoulders sagged and she looked up at the ceiling.

"Look on the bright side: I'm pretty sure Gabe'll think the outfit's hot."

"I'd rather just talk to him normally." Sue gave her a flat look.

"Then do it."

"It's not...It's not that easy." Lana rolled her eyes. Yes, it really was. Who the hell would say no to Sue freaking Storm asking them out on a date? Worst thing that could happen was her fanboy legion getting pissy, but a few keyboard warriors were hardly worse than the criminals whose hideouts Gabe kept busting into, "It's just...I mean, we don't even really talk that much and he doesn't know that I know he helped me."

"Oh my god, this circular bullshit!" Lana groaned, "Sue, seriously, what the heck is the issue? You're hot, you're a celebrity, and you're one of the nicest people I know! You really shouldn't be bugging about this!"

"But..." Lana huffed and, before Sue could react, stood and tossed the whip into Sue's lap. The blonde gingerly picked it up and by the time she looked to Lana again the brunette held up her phone with a grin, "What are you-"

"Say cheese!"

The sudden flash made Sue drop the whip in surprise. The blonde stood and Lana backed away, "H-Hey, what are you going to do with that picture?"

"Hm, oh I just thought Gabe could see the costume too." Sue's already wide eyes practically jumped out of her face at that.

"Y-You can't!" Sue shouted in a panic. Lana had a downright _evil_ grin.

"Oh, I totally can! Of course, I _could_ be convinced to delete them if you just stopped dicking around and told the guy you wanted to ask him out."

"B-But-"

"Sending now!"

"Okay, okay! I'll...I'll ask him out soon, alright?!" Lana continued to grin at Sue as the blonde plopped back on the couch and glared up at her, "You're evil. You know that, right?"

"And yet you still hang out with me." The phone suddenly rang, "Cin? What's up?"

"I need you to come in and answer some questions."

"Uh...whatever it is, I didn't do it."

"Relax, you're not in trouble." She laughed softly, "It's the opposite, actually. You remember those people you saved from the docks a few nights ago?"

"Yeah, kinda hard to forget..."

"Well we found some evidence linking them to some disappearances going on in the city that I'm currently investigating. So could you come in? I tried to contact Spider-Girl but she's not picking up."

"Yeah, she went out of town to meet her dad. I'll call Gabe too, he was the one who gave us the info." She said her goodbyes to Cindy and, after subsequently informing Gabriel, turned back to Sue, "Sorry, I gotta go. Duty calls."

"I could drive you there, if you want?"

"Uh...sure, but you might wanna change your outfit. Unless you wanna go out like that; ain't judging."

Five minutes later she and a red faced Sue were driving to the police station on Sue's fancy blue corvette. She kinda felt like a prick riding around in this thing, and it wasn't just cause Sue had insisted on driving her. Lana looked outside the window and let her mind wander again. She wondered what Cindy wanted. She didn't exactly jot down notes after they rescued those people.

"See ya later, Sue."

The two did their personal handshake and Lana went down. A few of the officers gave her some looks (she wasn't wearing her costume), but as soon as she flashed the Initiative Card at the receptionist and said she was visiting Spinerette they obliged her, "She's in the lower floor. Two of your acquaintances were already paged in." Lana's brows furrowed. Two? Did Gabe take someone with him?

She opened the door to Cin's office and groaned as soon as he saw Frog-Man standing next to Gabe. She saw the guy around occasionally, but she couldn't say they were friends. Or even acquaintances, really; she stopped talking to him when Kamala moved out and the game nights stopped. It was a good idea all around. From what she heard the guy had a habit of trying and failing to be Frog-Man the Incredible.

Gabriel shrugged with a helpless smile while Cin leaned across her table with her fingers massaging her temples, clearly annoyed, "Oh, Striker! It's good to see you again!" Patillio took her hand in a limp handshake.

"Yeah, you too..." She pulled her hand back, "So...what are you doing here?"

"Oh, Gabriel told me about your meeting and I assumed that you could use some help!" Lana looked past frogger to glare at Gabriel. He shrugged again and mouthed something she couldn't make out, "So, what's the problem? Is there a villain that needs stopping?"

"No," Cin interrupted forcefully, "I called the _two _of them here because I wanted to ask some questions. Nothing more, nothing less."

"O-Oh..." Frogger seemed to actually deflate at that.

"So, back to business." Lana sat next to Gabe while Frogger stood awkwardly stood behind them, "All the people you two saved were taken under police protection afterwards. Almost all of them are back with or in contact with their families already, but a few are still here pending. We did some investigating and I think that we can connect them to a current case where Gifted are being kidnapped."

"How do you mean?" Lana asked.

"All of the people who were being...traded-" her face knotted in distaste, "-were present in New York when the Terrigen wave hit." Oh yeah, she remembered that. People thought they'd get badass superpowers and most of them just ended up with the super awesome power to grow their nails four times as fast. Definitely wouldn't have helped them if some assholes pointed guns and put them in a shipping container.

"So...you think that this is connected to your case about Gifted being kidnapped?" Lana asked.

"Yes. And even if it isn't, this falls under my watch. So, I'm gonna need any information."

"That's more Gabe's thing." She gestured to the quiet teen, "He was the one who got the info. Me and An- _Spider-Girl_ wouldn't have know otherwise." She had to remind herself that Frogger was behind her. No secret identities.

"Really?" Cindy raised a brow while Gabe shyly sunk into his seat, "Well, can't be too surprised since you're Lana's friend. Alright, so can you give me anything."

"W-Well, I already gave the USB the police. I-I dropped it off anonymously with a note." Lana smiled. The guy was _obsessed_ with not being seen, "But, I did overhear something. They mentioned that their boss was making deals with some bigshot businessman in New York. They said he was the one buying all the 'products'."

"A single buyer? Hmm..." Cin pursed her lips, "Did they mention their boss' name? Or the buyer?"

"Y-Yeah! They called him...Scorpion, I think? The boss, I mean. didn't hear anytning about the buyer."

"Scorpion? Ugh, that guy again. Well, Spider-Woman did say he was back in town. Should've known that asshole wouldn't keep the deal..." Cin sighed, "Anything else? Every little detail helps, Gabriel."

"Um...oh! M-Maybe it's nothing, but one of the goons mentioned how creeped out he was about 'those ninja fucks' they worked with."

"Ninjas? Shit, 99 percent chance that means the Hand have their fingers in this pie too..." Cin sighed again, "I gotta call Pete, get him in on this. He knows those cosplayers better than anyone."

"The Hand? Aren't those the guys who followed that demon around? I thought you and Spider-Man and the rest of the Defenders beat em all?" Frogger asked Lana.

"We took out of most of em, but they're like roaches. Always manage somehow." Lana sneered. She should've known taking down Murdock wouldn't stop them.

Cindy looked to Gabriel, "I'm the last person to judge, but I'm guessing from what Lana said you do this 'sneaking in' thing a lot?" Gabriel nodded hesitantly, probably afraid he'd get in trouble, "Hmm...well, if you're not stopping - and I don't like the idea of arresting someone trying to do the right thing - you're gonna need some backup. I have a friend, Norah Winters. She's experienced in this kinda thing. Think you could help her out?"

"N-Norah Winters? I've read up on her exposes on the Kingpin and those Darkweb hackers!" Lana covered her mouth and smiled. Of course he'd be a fanboy of journalists instead of whatever teenage boys liked nowadays, "O-Of course I'd help!"

Lana smirked at Cin, "Well, I guess this means I'm helping you...out..."

"Something wrong, Lana?" Cindy asked worriedly.

"H-Hey, what happened to the ones we rescued that are still here?"

"Huh? Like I said we're keeping them under custody. Why?"

"Wh-What about Aracely?" Lana said in a panic.

Cindy blinked in confusion, "Aracely? Who's that?"

"Aracely! One of the people we saved! Little Mexican girl, loves to blab? Not ringing any bells?" Lana stood up and couldn't ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach, "I told the cop who visited the hospital everything about her!"

Cindy's brows furrowed, "What are you talking about? I got all the reports on the victims and not a single one of them mentioned a Mexican girl in the hospital. We thought we had all the victims here. It's for their own protection."

"Then that means..." It meant there was a damn good chance that guy wasn't a cop...and right now Aracely was alone, "Shit...shit! We have to go! Now!"

* * *

"Alright Gwen, you can do this..." Gwen took as she stood in front of the door to her house. Webster warmed her stomach, but it didn't do much to help. She'd been here last night, but Dad and Jess took Helena to visit Jess' sister. It was a mixed blessing. She'd wanted to tell them all and Peter at once, just...get it over with before she could change her mind and postpone it again.

**'We have to tell them, Gwen.'**

_Easy for you to say! You're not the one breaking the news! And _you _were the one who got pregnant!'_ she thought hotly. Seeing Peter - stoic, almost always in control Peter - _lose his shit_ when she told him last night just made the spiders in her stomach worse. If he took it that badly how would her dad - her sweet, overprotective dad - take it? Jess might've been cool, but that did little to diminish the fact that he still had a revolver in the house.

Gwen knocked on the door.

The person who greeted her wasn't who she expected, "Hello, Gwen." Aunt May gave her a wrinkled smile. Gwen's mouth opened in shock and, before she could think better of it, she pulled the woman in a crushing embrace, "Woah! It's nice to see you too!"

"A-Aunt May! Why are you here?!"

"We thought we could visit for a few days. Come on inside."

Gwen's smile turned into a full on grin when she saw all of the occupants in the living room. Her dad and Uncle Ben were on the couch watching a game while Jess and her mom played with Helena in her crib. The older blonde looked up and gave her a hesitant smile, "Hey, kiddo- woah!" Gwen pulled her into a desperate embrace and held her tight, "G-Gwen, too tight! Super strength, remember?"

"M-Mom, you're..." She (reluctantly) parted from the older woman, though she still kept a tight grip on her shoulders, "I-I didn't think you'd..."

"I...truth be told I almost didn't, but Ben and May cheated and told George and Jess I was here. Jess kinda...dragged me over here. And I mean that literally; she put me over her shoulder like a cavewoman and ignored my arguments."

"I've been carrying a baby for months, Helen. You banging on my back was easy." Jess scoffed playfully.

"Well you can't blame me for not wanting to go!"

"I don't see why. We never blamed you for what Murdock did," her sad said. Gwen's hands clenched into tight fists. _Murdock_. She still couldn't believe that Peter was working with that bastard. Thank _God_ he didn't take the D.A's deal to be that fucker's roommate.

"I know, George, but-"

"Hey, no buts," Gwen interrupted forcefully, "This is your home and you're always welcome, so enough about Murderdock."

"Too right. Life's too short to think about regrets," Uncle Ben said with a grin, "We've got some new stories to tell you guys. You wouldn't think of it, but France is a _really_ exciting place. Me and May were there when the Eiffel tower was cut down and lemme tell ya..."

Hours passed with all of them just exchanging stories and catching each other up. Her mom told them about the flower shop she ran and, after a lot of prodding, eventually admitted that she was seeing a frequent customer of hers. Gwen felt somewhat sad at the news. She was happy her mom was moving on, of course, but it also meant the chances of her moving back to New York permanently were slim to none.

Ben and May were doing good as well. The place S.H.I.E.L.D put them in was comfy and Ben made a decent living as a general handyman for the apartment building they stayed at. Again, just another reminder that this was a temporary visit for the three of them.

"Anything new with you, kiddo? Besides the superheroics, I mean." Her mom asked.

"Oh...well...there's _something_."

**'Tell them now, Gwen.'**

"Right, um...could everyone gather round?" Everyone immediately noticed her serious tone and quieted down. Gwen took a deep breath, "I'm...I'm actually really glad you're all here. Um...there's something I have to tell you all, and since you're all family this is as good a time as any. I mean I would've preferred if Peter was here too, but I already told him last night and I just-"

**'You're rambling.'**

"What's wrong, honey?" Her dad asked worriedly.

"Alright, so...there's no easy way to say this, so I'll just blurt it out." She took a deep breath to steady herself, "I'm...I mean, _we're_ pregnant."

A pregnant (heh...focus!) silence engulfed the room. Gwen resisted every urge to close her eyes or walk away to ignore the all-encompassing quiet. She looked at each of them in turn. All of them were in various states of shock, sans Jessica who seemed more confused than anything else. Ben and May held onto each other's hands in a vice grip, her mom covered her mouth with both hands and whispered to herself while her dad...

Her dad was looking at the cabinet. The one that had his revolver in it. _Shit_.

Before she could even say anything Helena suddenly burped and and started laughing. That seemed to jolt them out of whatever shock they were in, "Oh my God..." Aunt May was...crying?! "Oh, Gwen...I'm so happy for you both!"

"Uh...thanks?" she asked back weakly. She knew they'd be supportive, but this was kinda weird.

"I didn't think it'd happen so soon, but congratulations!" Ben grinned, "We should probably start planning for the wedding now, huh?" Gwen blinked. Wedding? What the heck was he talking about?

"I'm so happy for you both...though, I _did_ tell you about protection, right? Or did you and little Peter choose to do it deliberately?" Her mom asked. It took Gwen a few seconds before the full implications of what she said finally kicked in and her eyes widened to the size of plates, "I'm not complaining, though! I'm all for having a grandkid to spoil, especially now, I'm just hoping this isn't a shotgun oopsie thing."

"Woah, woah, woah! Hold on a second!" Gwen stood up in a panic. Her dad tried to wheel his way to the cabinet and Gwen blocked his way frantically, "J-Just hold up, alright?! I think there's been a misunderstanding!"

"There's no misunderstanding." Oh God, he had the dad smile on his face. Not good, "I'm...happy for you both. Now, if you don't mind I'd like to call Peter over here so we can discuss this alone. Just the two of us."

He tried to slip past Gwen to reach the dreaded cabinet and Gwen screamed the first thing she could, "It's not Peter's baby!" They looked shocked again, but she was in too much of a panic to stop, "It's Webster's! She got pregnant cause apparently that's a thing symbiotes do and now we're - Webster and me - pregnant and carrying a little goop baby and ohgoddadstoplookingatthefuckingcabinet!"

**'Rambling again.'**

_'Quiet, you!'_

The next stretch of quiet was even more stifling than the last, if you could believe it. It didn't last long before Jessica suddenly snorted, "Yeah, I figured as much." Oddly enough, she didn't sound sarcastic at all. Everyone, Gwen included, gave her a look, "...What? Our life's fucking crazy, of course this shit happens! Besides, it makes sense. Parker's only been here, what, 4 or 5 days? Even if he and Gwen did it the _second_ he came back there's no way she'd know she was pregnant. Takes like half a month before the tests even work."

"O-Oh...yes, that makes sense." May said sadly. Gwen suddenly felt like she'd kicked a dog, "I...guess we got overexcited."

"You and...that symbiote?" Her dad looked like his head was gonna explode, "I just...um..."

"Wait, I'm confused. Does this mean you broke up with Peter?" Her mom asked, "And if you did, I didn't think that um...I dunno what to call her, sorry. Whatever, how does that work? I mean, who's carrying the baby and how did you two...you know?"

"Oh my god..." Gwen covered her eyes with both hands and groaned. Webster jutted out of her shoulder and rubbed her face against Gwen's cheek. It didn't help, "No, me and Peter aren't broken up." Why did everyone keep asking her that? "As for the baby...it's hard to explain the science. Apparently Webster did it on her own. Asexual reproduction like some jellyfish. I was not involved."

**"It may or may not contain her genetic data. I'm unsure," **Webster added, **"We plan to visit Janet to get clarification."**

"So...when you said _we're_ pregnant, you meant you and the symbiote? Peter is not involved?" Her dad asked. She nodded. At least as far she knew he wasn't involved, "Well...I'll admit I'm not so sure what to do for this situation."

"Maybe going back and not looking at the cabinet will help?" Gwen smiled awkwardly.

It was, of course, at that very moment that Peter decided to finally make his grand entrance. He stepped past the door and breathed softly in obvious frustration, "Sorry it took so long, there was a..." He stopped when he caught everyone in the room staring at him, "Alright...I'm guessing by the quiet that Gwen told you the same thing she told me last night."

"Yeah...but, why are you covered in soot and blood?" her mom asked.

"Something went wrong." How screwed up was it that she didn't even feel that worried? "Don't worry, no one died...mostly." Her dad frowned at the joke(?), "Still, what are you all doing here? Especially you two?"

"Not happy to see us, son?" Ben smiled.

"Of course I am, I wouldn't have stayed three months in France if i didn't. It's just that you both know it's still not safe to stay here, right?"

"Don't worry, we're just visiting," May said reassuringly, "Come on and have a seat. Oh, but you might wanna clean yourself up first."

It took a little bit of prodding, but eventually he told them about what he was up to before he got there. He didn't tell them about Murderdock, which Gwen was just fine with. That bastard didn't deserve any more notice than they already gave him.

Eventually May, Ben and her mom said their goodbye; they were staying at a hotel in town despite dad's insistence they could stay over. Gwen waited till the both of them were outside before she asked, "So what really happened? Without the censorship."

"It's pretty accurate, actually. Me and Matt ran through the building and I got to Murakami. Almost had him before that old hag Gao stepped in." He clicked his tongue and looked like he was about to grab a cigarette before reining it in, "Met this woman...Matt said she was part of the Hand, but for some reason she decided to help us. Spider-sense didn't ring at all so I'm givin' her the benefit of the doubt."

"That's it?"

"Well, someone left Matt bleeding out on the floor, but that's not all that worrying." She still had no idea why Peter called him that. 'Matt'...like they were friends or something. What was wrong with Murderdock? "Left him at his mom's place so she can patch him up."

"Did he...do anything to you? Anything at all?"

"Ah...noth-"

"You're lying."

"-ing really." They stared at each other awkwardly, Peter defensive while Gwen glared at him, "Didn't even let me finish."

"Cause it's BS. There's no way that asshole didn't try something, so spill."

"He didn't try to kill me, if that's what you're worried about." Gwen crossed her arms and pursed her lips, "...Okay, fine, just don't be mad." He pulled out a cigarette and lit it after some hesitation, "...When we were in the elevator together he said he loved me. That's it." He said it in the same way tone you'd use when talking about someone who spilled hot tea on you.

It didn't help. At all.

"He **_what?!_**" Peter actually stepped back at her scream. If she could look in a mirror she would've seen the dark veins that ran up her neck and how her teeth had begun to sharpen, "What the fuck?! Are you serious?!"

"Gwen-"

"Okay, no, you aren't going near that asshole again!"

"Gwen!" He let the cigarette drop and grabbed both of her shoulders tightly, "Stop worrying. I'm not his friend and I don't care what he said." He cupped her right cheek and the symbiote covered the surface of his fingers, "Me and him are never going to be friends, so don't worry. Alright?"

Gwen took a deep breath and looked away. The suit retreated back under her skin, "...I don't like this."

"Neither do I, but for now I have to play ball. Page still has Bullseye over me and the Hand needs to be buried." They faced each other again. Gwen was about to lean in and kiss him before a sudden vibration cut through the air, "That's my phone..." He (disappointingly) stepped back and frowned at the message on the screen, "Gotta go."

"Murderdock again?" she asked, more than a little resentful.

"No, but might be just as bad." He sighed and pocketed the phone, "Satana Hellstrin just called...she wants to meet."

"Great, I don't even have to guess with a name like that." She rubbed at her forehead in frustration. Why did he have to get involved with all this supernatural bullshit? What happened to good old mad science gone wrong? "Alright, I'm going with you this time."

"But-"

"Nope. I turn around and next thing I know you're gonna tell me you're married."

"Don't be silly...that contract's not binding."

* * *

The place they went to wasn't what she expected. She thought they'd go to some abandoned farm in the middle of nowhere with some assholes screaming worship in front of a pentagram. Would've fit with everything else so far.

Instead they ended up on a nightclub.

The bouncer took one look at the card Peter had and immediately let them pass. Gwen narrowed her eyes warily. Something about the guy rubbed her wrong. Peter stopped in front of the door and looked back at her slightly, "You remember what I told you?"

"Yeah. Don't touch anything, don't look too long and don't put anything in your mouth." She felt like a kid being told the rules of the bouncy castle.

"And don't get involved _no matter what_. Trust me, it's not worth it."

The first thing she noticed was the blood red light. She wasn't a stranger to mood lighting, but the sheer pressure of it gave her a headache. Then there was the music. Most nightclub music was loud and chaotic, but this one was a slower beat rock song she couldn't place. Gwen looked down at her hands and clenched them into fists to try and ignore her heart beating against her ears.

Peter led her to the main room and she immediately understood his warnings. On the closest table was a group of at least half a dozen men and women practically tearing through a sack with something struggling inside it. She wanted to think it was a pig judging by its squeals, but the sheer size of the sack did little to assuage the sinking feeling in her gut on how _wrong_ it was.

And then one of them turned to look at her and she just about froze. On his own he would've looked normal, handsome even: a neat stubble, charcoal suit and somewhat shaggy hair that went to his shoulders. But there were his eyes: blood red just like the lighting in the room with a glow that couldn't be matched by any sort of contact lenses.

A demon. Half-breeds, Peter called them. Either demons or angels that had some part of them that was human or full blooded ones who gave almost everything up because Earth was so much more fun than Heaven or Hell. He'd assured her that, while they were stronger than humans, they definitely couldn't hold a candle to people like her or Cindy. It didn't do much to help her frayed nerves.

Peter grabbed her wrist and dragged her along, "What was that, Peter?" she asked, voice raised so he could hear her over the music.

"Half-breeds feeding. Either a rapist or a child killer or something else. The bigger the crime the more...flavor." His face knotted in distaste. She was torn. A part of her felt relieved that it wasn't someone innocent but at the same time she was still appalled. Even a rapist and a murderer deserved a trial and prison, not...being eaten like he was a fucking pig on a roast.

A few tables down a blonde woman with golden eyes looked up at her with a smirk and blew at the assorted chalices of water in front of her. The clear fluid turned purple - wine, she noted dumbly - and the woman picked it up to take a sip. She didn't break eye contact with Gwen the entire time.

Two more people stared at them. An androgynous looking man with short, blonde hair and golden eyes looked up at them while a woman with long dark hair and red eyes kissed and licked at his right cheek. Despite the kissing and him rubbing her thigh they continued to stare at them both, though Peter paid them no mind. Eventually she followed his example and stubbornly faced ahead.

The door to the owner's room opened slowly when they arrived. An old, heavyset man in a suit stepped out. His eyes were red and the nasty scar - a burn mark, it looked like - that ran up the right side of his face only added to his menacing presence. He glared at Peter as he passed, which he only responded to with a glare of his own.

The moment was broken when a call came from inside, "Don't just stand there, come in!" The high, cheerful voice almost made her jump up. It sounded way too normal considering the place they were at.

Peter opened the door and Gwen almost immediately felt a rush of relief. The blood red lights were gone replaced by a more neutral tone. The inside was almost comfy: upper class furniture, a few paintings on the walls and a mahogany desk that reminded her of the one her dad had.

Gwen stopped mid-stride when she finally saw the room's owner. An older woman with snow white skin and hair to match. She was dressed in a bright red skintight material that left large swathes of her side and her chest - from her breasts to her navel - exposed. She looked up at them with a coy smile and Gwen swallowed nervously as her heart suddenly sped up. Everything about her from her eyes to her long lashes to her cherry red lips were beautiful.

She didn't even care that the woman had what looked like white ram horns jutting out of her forehead. She was that hot.

Peter suddenly scowled next to her, "Enough with the mindgames, Satana."

"Oh? Whatever do you mean?" She crossed one leg over the other casually.

"You know what I mean. Quit it before I turn around and let you deal with whatever this is on your own."

"Fine...spoilsport."

All at once Gwen felt the haze lift and she gasped. She looked at the white haired woman again and blinked. She was still pretty, sure, but not to the point that Gwen drooled at the sight of her, "...What the fuck was that?" Gwen whispered to Peter.

"A little trick I like to play sometimes. Just a mild pheromonal effect." She - _Satana_, Gwen reminded herself - giggled, "It's always the innocent ones that are the most fun."

"I-"

"Why did you call me here." Peter stepped closer to the desk and blocked Gwen from view.

"What, can't I just see an old friend? We haven't seen each other since we averted armageddon." Peter told her about that. The details kinda flew over her head, but apparently some guy wanted to kill an angel and that'd somehow lead to Hell on earth and a thousand years of suffering or something. Between that and Red Skull's crazy daughter she wondered if someone was planning to blow up the earth's core right this second.

"I'd buy that if it was Ketch or Daimon, not you. You want something."

"Always so cynical." She sighed theatrically and steepled her hands together as she leaned forward, a sudden predatory smile on her face, "So, a little birdie told me you're fighting with the Hand."

"What's it to you? You don't care about that."

"You're right. Normally I wouldn't, but this group has...insulted me." Peter's eyes narrowed, "Apparently they didn't learn their lesson about dealing with the Beast and wanted to try making a deal with another demon for immortality."

"Wait, seriously?" Gwen asked, "Peter killed their old demon boss and now they're trying to find another one?"

"Humans are prone to repetition," Satana said, "And if it helps, it doesn't seem like the entire group is for it. Just that cult led by the one calling himself Bakuto." She waved a hand through the air, "Now normally I wouldn't care, like Petey said - what's a little soul dealing here and there? But then they just had to go and deliberately snub me to make a deal with that old _bitch_ Lilith and her children."

"Lilith? She's around? Thought we dealt with most of her brood..." Peter muttered.

"Oh yes. She and that spawn of hers, 'Blackout', have been seen around town recently. Danny's coming over soon to deal with them and I figured you'd want in."

"Meaning you wanna use me as a proxy in your war..."

"Always so cynical! I'm giving you an olive branch here, Petey! You need to stop the Hand and I don't want that hag gaining another leg up on me. It's a mutually beneficial deal." She smiled coyly, "But if you insist, I don't mind owing you a favor for this, even if I _am_ doing you a favor by telling you this. If you make sure this deal goes through then I'll owe you. How's that sound?"

"Sounds like something with strings attached." Peter scoffed.

"Cynical. Always cynical." She sighed and looked past him to Gwen. The blonde suddenly froze up when, before either she or Peter could react, the white haired demoness was suddenly in front of her. Gwen stepped back and the woman smiled, "But enough about business. Let's talk about your delicious friend here." She put a hand on Gwen's cheek and she froze. Bad touch, bad touch! "She oozes virtue and innocence. Odd, for a human."

Peter grabbed Satana's wrist and growled, "Stay away from her."

"I'm not planning to hurt her!" Satana pouted, "It's quite the opposite, really. People who claim goodness are a dime a dozen, especially in New York, but to see someone so honestly pure...it's almost too much to resist." Peter stepped in front of her, but Satana paid him no mind, "Hey, you're Spider-Woman, right? No need to answer, it's easy enough to tell. Innocence like you comes around only once every century."

"Uh...thanks?" She might've felt flattered if the woman wasn't looking at her the same way Gwen looked at a particularly enticing corndog.

"Hey, you want to give your soul to me?" Gwen blanched. Did she _really_ just say that? "Oh, I don't mean right now or anything! I meant later when you die. Someone like you is on the fast track to Heaven, but do you _really_ want to go up there? It's just church for all eternity! Boring! Personal Hells are where it's at! Who wants to spend the rest of forever singing and praying when they can party with all their favorite rockstars and shoot up with no consequences?"

"Um..."

"I tried to give the same deal to Petey, but he didn't budge, so how about you? My denizens would _love _having a Superhero on attraction, especially someone as famous as you. I'll give you anything you want in exchange!" She was uncomfortably close to her and Peter now, "What do you say? Want to give me your soul?"

"Enough!" Peter shoved her off, "We didn't come here to hear your pitch, Satana. If you've said all you need to say then we're leaving."

"I'll get you too eventually, Petey. You and this delicious little thing." Ugh, she'd never felt so objectified in her life; and she'd seen Spider-Woman porn! "Oh, before you go, you should probably know Blade's looking to ask for your help. Something about vampire schoolgirls?"

"...Fine."

They left far faster than when they went inside. Gwen didn't even realize she was holding her breath before she suddenly took a large, desperate gulp of air as soon as they were outside in the cold alley. Gwen put her hands on her knees and panted. Did Peter really deal with these kinds of things daily? Cause if he did then he had no fucking business calling what she got up to a Madhouse!

"...I told you shouldn't have come." Peter pinched the bridge of his nose and breathed deeply.

"It wasn't...that bad." Gwen stood up straight again, "Besides, it's...kinda flattering, in way?"

"I wouldn't trust her. She's not above making a deal with one of the anti-christ; I know cause I was there. I still got a bullet in that weasel's head." Gwen blinked. Did Peter just say he planned to kill the anti-christ? Or that there was more than one?

**'She asked for your soul, Gwen. Would that include me?' **Webster asked suddenly.

_'I...I dunno. I'm not really sure how this works. If souls are real that means you have your own, right?'_

**'...I wonder if we'll be together when this ends. I don't want to lose you.'**

Her (depressing) inner monologue was cut off when she heard the tapping of a cane against the ground. At first she thought it was Murdock - paranoia from last year's hell - but when she turned to the source she found a stranger. He was pale and frail looking with long, somewhat unkempt hair. He was dressed in an all black ensemble and the swathes of skin on his arms, chest and neck were covered in intricate tattoos and he used the steel cane to walk slowly towards them.

And then Peter suddenly smiled.

"Daimon." The frail looking man reciprocated the smile and accepted the hand Peter offered. The handshake was firm and Gwen made a surprised Noir when Peter practically hugged the guy, "You are a sight for sore eyes, old friend."

"And you as well." His voice was soft and somewhat raspy, though oddly comforting, "I'm assuming my sister's told you of the situation?"

"Yeah..."

"Uh...kinda confused here, Pete," Gwen cut in.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. This is Daimon Hellstrom, brother to Satanna, son to Satan and prophecied as the true Anti-Christ. Also a really nice guy."

"You flatter me." He chuckled softly. Gwen was still trying to focus on the 'Anti-Christ son of Satan who's also a nice guy' bit, "As pleasant as it is to see you again, I feel I should inform you that my sister wasn't lying: Lilith and her spawn are indeed present in this city. I'll be aiding you and Daniel in when the need arises."

"Are you sure? You...don't look like you've recovered. You gave up a lot to keep me, Ketch and Satana alive..."

"A worthy exchange. And yes, I should be fine." He raised his free and focused on the tattoos, "I've found a way to...compensate to an extent. You and Daniel will have to do most of the fighting, of course, but I'll pull my weight."

The two of them exchanged pleasantries for a minute before eventually saying their goodbyes. Gwen just watched her twice resurrected boyfriend chat up the son of Satan and said the first thing that came to mind.

"This place is a madhouse."

Peter laughed. She looked at him in mock offense till both his phone and her prioricard rang, "Huh?" She looked down at the compact screen and saw an SOS coming from Cindy's card along with a location. Across from her Peter took a frantic call from Lana.

"Looks like Cindy's in trouble."

"Lana too. Apparently they're together." Peter put on his mask while Gwen shifted into her costume, "Let's go."

* * *

She couldn't believe she was doing this.

Mary Jane took a deep breath as she lowered into a crouch on the side of the building, the cold night air whipping her hair around mercilessly. She was high up; so high that the people below looked like ants and everything blurred together in a haze of moving light.

Her fingers pressed against the window tightly. She couldn't crawl on walls the same way as Gwen, but Crimson allowed her to copy easily enough - just add some of the suit to her fingertips and, failing that, stab her claws into the walls, "Come on, Mary Jane..." She shook her head. Right now she really wanted a hood to shield her face, but Crimson refused. Apparently it and Lana agreed on at least one thing.

**_'What are you waiting for?'_**

_'Gimme a fucking second!'_ She took another deep breath. This was her idea, she reminded herself. If she wanted to do more than add scumbag's bodies to the pile then she needed to do something different, and what better way to start than with a literal leap of faith? She'd seen Gwen make jumps like these in her sleep, so she should try too. She had a new costume; now she needed to own up to it.

**'Jump!'**

She jumped.

The glass shattered behind her, but the brief noise was quickly drowned out by the rush of air as she plummeted. Mary Jane stumbled through the air briefly before she eventually managed to right herself, _'Now!'_ She turned around and shot two lines of blood red webbing from her knuckles. The two lines flew upwards till they attached themselves to the side of the building.

Mary Jane grunted as she was suddenly pulled back by her arms with enough force to tear someone normal in half. She raised in a wide arm through the air and let go at the peak. She shot another line of webbing to a nearby building and and ran along the ground to give herself some momentum. It wasn't as effortless or automatic as Gwen, but it was exciting all the same.

A cargo truck came on the intersection. Mary Jane jumped and landed on the bed of the container before jumping across the roofs of the cars ahead of her. A few people frantically swung around their phones to record or take pictures. Mary Jane jumped higher onto a flagpole jutting out of the side of a building and used it to propel herself higher before shooting another line of webbing.

"Ha!" she screamed in excitement. This was the first time she'd had fun with it. Just a couple of days ago webswinging was just a way for her to get to places - to get to killing - faster. Now she was doing it for its own sake and it was fun.

She jumped across two close by building and swung to a brightly lit, wide office building window. Mary Jane ran along the side and and gave a casual wave to the employees as she passed, some of whom stood up or fell out of their chair entirely in shock. Mary Jane grinned and jumped into the nearby rooftop, remembering every single amateur parkour vid she watched on the youwebs.

It was only when she reached the edge of a particularly tall building that she finally stopped. Mary Jane put her hands on her knees and lower her mask to her neck. She panted for a few seconds and grinned, "Wow..."

**_'Had your fun?'_ **Crimson asked grumpily.

_'Yes, believe it or not.' _She sat the edge of the building and looked down at her hands, her artificially lengthened hair spilling past the edge of the roof. Covered in red but not covered in blood. It was...an odd feeling, being happy to be in costume.

**_'Now what?'_**

_'Now we go on patrol.'_ She stood and pulled her mask back up. It was the second part of her plan to try and...normalize the thing, if you could ever make this normal. Crimson had growled and groaned that it was pointless, but it was a give and take. She spent the past few months feeding the thing, now it was time for it to pay her back.

She wanted to say it meant there'd be no more killing, but she wasn't that naive. Crimson wouldn't be pacified forever and, if she was being honest, the people she went after deserved it. Murderers, rapists, human traffickers, baby killers...monsters who got away with their crimes for one reason or another and felt no shred of remorse; not until her hands were around their neck and they finally faced the consequences.

She just didn't want that to be all her life.

The next few hours were spent just stopping whatever crime she could. A few muggings here, one assault there. She didn't kill any of them, not even the one prick who kept screaming about how 'all you fucking bitches are the same!' after she stopped him from smashing that girl's ahead against the wall. He'd be in prison soon enough, and if he didn't tried something again...well, she'd do something about it.

She was just about to turn in when she heard a scream, a woman this time...and oddly familiar. Mary Jane swung the short distance over and saw a guy in a mask running down an alley with a purse in his hands. Somehow she doubted it belonged to him, **_'This is a waste of our time,'_** Crimson groused. Mary Jane ignored it. She jumped, flipped mid fall and kicked the guy straight across his back.

The guy fell and the purse flew through the air. Mary Jane snagged it with a line of webbing, making sure to not make the tip barbed, and pulled it back towards her, "Stay there for a sec." She webbed the guy's hands and feet down so he was spread eagle and facing the ground. He was just a purse snatcher, so nothing too bad.

A pair of hesitant footsteps came from behind. Mary Jane turned with a grin and froze when she saw a familiar head of red hair, practically the exact same shade as her own, "Mary..." She almost dropped the purse in her surprise. In a city with over 8 and a half million people, what were the chances she'd run into her? Especially so late at night?

"Y-You know my name?" The other redhead asked softly.

"Uh...your nametag." She gestured lamely to the dull clip on her uniform.

"O-Oh, yeah..." Mary Jane awkwardly handed the girl her purse back. She should've swung away at that point, but of course she had to open her mouth again, "What are you doing out so late...young lady?" Mary Jane cringed. She was pretty sure they were the same age, "Most people aren't usually out this late at night."

"Oh, um...my boss wanted me to stay in later. Couldn't refuse the money."

"You still shouldn't have gone through an alley." Yeah, like _she_ had any room to talk about that.

"I-I know, but I usually cut through this way cause it's faster. I didn't think this would happen tonight..." She held onto her purse slightly, "U-Um...thank you for saving me...um, I'm sorry what was your name?"

"Oh! Uh, Scarlet Spider! And it's no big deal! Just a purse snatcher..." She jerked her thumb to the end of the alley, "Well...I should probably go. You'll be safe?"

"Y-Yeah! It's just a two minute walk from here."

Mary Jane said her goodbyes and swung up to the closest rooftop. Mary watched her go and looked down at her purse. She couldn't do anything when that guy threatened her; he didn't even have a pocket knife. Sighing, she trudged down the alley and stopped when she was next to the struggling purse snatcher. Before she could think better of it, she kicked his side as hard as he could before continuing on her way.

Scarlet Spider...another superhero. There were more of them coming around now. She wondered idly if she was someone who got lucky with that weird mist thing. Mary herself had been out of town when it happened, but if she'd been here back then...

Up on the roof, Mary Jane pulled down her mask and breathed out slowly. That was way too close. She definitely didn't like the idea of being an unmasked hero like Kate or Peter's little sister, "That's enough for tonight..."

She was about to put her mask on before she saw it: explosions and fire. Mary Jane ran to the edge of the building and looked a closer, "A hospital..." That explosion didn't sound like a gas leak.

**_'We are weak to fire. You know this.' _**She actually caught a hint of fear in its voice.

"Doesn't mean I'm just gonna do nothing." Ignoring Crimson's protests, she put her mask back on and swung to the inferno.

* * *

**I know this chapter came out a bit sooner and might bog down readers, but I'm actually kinda excited for the next chapter since it'll be the first time all five protagonists - Noir, Gwen, Lana, Cindy and Mary Jane - fight together as a team. I won't be doing these kinds of things a lot since the varying power levels between all five make it difficult for my inexperienced (for writing fight scenes) ass. **

**...Oh, and Frog-Man's there too, but everyone just kinda ignores him. **

**Thankfully I managed to cram the Scarlet Spider and nightclub segment into this chapter since I didn't want to postpone it...and yeah, I made Daimon Hellstrom into V. So sue me, I like the character design, and it allows me to differentiate him from Ghost Rider (overwhelming power) and Peter (weaponry and superpowers) by making him a summoner.**

**Questions:**

**1\. What villains would you like to show up to the hospital fight? I already have a few in mind but I'm still taking suggestions. Please make it someone who can reasonably be fought by street levelers, okay? I ain't putting Ultron here. Bonus points for archetypes since it allows me to vary it up i.e Noir and Cindy fight fire users cause Gwen and MJ can't, Gwen deals with the super strong juggernaut, Lana fights a speedster etc etc.**

**2\. Should I tone down the mystical segments for Noir going forward? Some people might find the nightclub scene and the casual mentions of things like demons, vampires etc etc offputting now that we're in V2.**

**3\. Do you guys think we need to shift to an M rating or the T is fine?**

**Review Answers:**

**Noisy Cricket - Peter actually isn't that trigger happy; he pulls out guns the same amount as Cindy. As for unplanned attraction...that was less unplanned and more the audience kept pushing it super hard and I caved.**

**Cha0s4ever - Nah, even if Eugene did want to go Syndrome he doesn't have the skills or intelligence to to turn into a Superhero incel. Also, Gwen would react VERY poorly if she caught Matt and MJ kissing; as in she might legit beat the shit out of Matt before the others pull her off him, if they even bother to try to do so.**

**Raymond49090rc - Shadowcat's still there, she just has a hard time raising Laura on her own.**

**Roxasdualwielder - Initiative graduates are given specific patrol areas and almost all of them are humble enough to accept help. Heroes like Gwen can basically patrol wherever they want due to seniority and high mobility.**

**Brave2000 - New York and Gwen don't deserve Frog-Man's affection.**

**SpiderGod766 - Because I can.**

**Paul Garros - Something tells me Eugene is physically incapable of killing.**

**Vengeance208 - What do you mean Jobmore plot? As for Felicia and Cindy...Cindy's not into women, as she mentioned to Kate during V1. Every time she laments she's single she always refers to men. With regards to Frog-Man, his main issue is trying to be something he's not - like a 5 foot unathletic guy trying to joint he NBA.**

**I don't really have a word schedule and just write when I can despite being often distracted. As for dialogue, what do you need? I just write what I think the characters should say.**

**Guest 1 - Peter and Matt do share some similarities, yes, but personality wise are complete opposites. Matt is, to put it bluntly, a sadistic troll who enjoys needlessly antagonizing people whereas Peter, despite his reticence, is generally more polite and leaves people alone if they leave him alone. Matt goes out of his way to antagonize everyone.**

**Frog-Man's main issue is his ego and single-minded focus to be a badass hero with women falling all over him. Contrast to Gabriel who sticks to his strength and isn't afraid to have others like Lana do the heavy lifting because he's self-aware enough to know his limits.**

**Titan616 - Gwen rescues cats in canon Ghost Spider. And yeah, Eugene's really lacking self-awareness and overflowing with ego and a want to be famous. He's also kind of an ass, really: notice him prying into Gwen's relationship and butting into Gabriel's business the second he thinks it's an in to more hero work.**

**Guest 2 - How's Cindy a child? She started off immature (my fault for being unsure where to take her character), but after the Ogre arc she's far more subdued and mature, especially in comparison to others like Gwen. And in Cindy's case for guns, one could possibly chalk it up to her being an agent/police officer.**

**With regards to the romance: Norah's straight, Felicia might be open to a relationship now that she helped kill the Beast and Flash...well, kinda awkward but it was mentioned by Gwen in the last volume that he's going out with Glory, so he's not free either. **

**MJ is 21 (same age as Gwen) while Matt is 33-34, the same age range as Jessica Jones (33) and Helen Stacy (35). It's about 10 years and some change. Is that too much? It's hardly any worse than Jessica and George Stacy or for people who were angling to pair off Peter (18) with Cindy (28) during the first volume. **


	12. Five Headless Chickens

**So...I just watched Endgame a couple hours ago. For the sake of avoiding spoilers and not gushing too much I won't say anything, but I would suggest you guys watch it as soon as it comes out for you. **

**Anyway, this chapter was somewhat difficult to write, as expected. I like writing the beginning and ending but the middle part with the actual fighting? Yeah, pretty hard. Thankfully I can avoid big heavy action scenes right now and we split off into the five main arcs starting from here. We'll talk about that later. **

**Also, the MJ/Matt votes are pretty much half in half. Half believe it'd be awesome and the other half think it's dog crap and would ruin the fic. Gotta love that split mentality. **

* * *

Aracely woke up to screams.

Sitting up with a gasp, the young girl looked outside the dark room in a panic, "_¿H-Hola?_" She could hear screaming...but it wasn't screaming. It was panicking, crying, voices reaching out over one another into her thoughts. Aracely pressed both hands to her head and whimpered, "_¿H-Hola? ¿Doctor?_" The doctor would be able to help her. He was kind and always smiled, even when he was sad.

Aracely set her feet on the ground and shivered when the cold floor met skin. She grabbed the side of the bed to pull herself up and tried to ignore the screams. The room was dark; darker than it'd ever been when she stayed here. She didn't like the dark, "_Dónde...?_" She had to find the doctor. He would give her medicine so she could sleep, help her stop hearing the screams.

She was weak. Every step shook her and she had to grab the wall to keep from falling. Aracely panted and blocked her ears to cover the screaming, but she knew it wouldn't do any good. It wasn't really screaming.

She opened the door and looked around. The hall was dark like her room and she knew that wasn't normal, "_¿Hay alguien aqui?_" she called out. No response, just more of the screaming not screaming. Aracely whimpered again and walked down the hall. She smelled smoke in the air, like when the people who took them burned someone in front of them teach them what happened if they tried to escape.

The nice people gave her a private room here, said that it was for privacy and so that she could be alone after what she went through. They thought being with others would scare her, but it was the opposite. All those days in the crate, all those screams and and begging, and the only thing that gave her comfort was that she wasn't alone. Some of them had even tried to comfort the others and she remembered a girl her age who cried against her shoulder and said she just wanted to see her parents again.

When the last voice disappeared and she was all alone with nothing but her thoughts was the first time Aracely had cried too.

And then the screaming stopped and Aracely was plunged into silence, "_¿H-Hola?_" She wanted someone - anyone - to respond, but there was nothing. She grabbed the door leading to the outside hall and the smell of fire became almost overpowering. Aracely coughed and her eyes watched as smoke wafted in from the windows. The hospital was burning.

Taking a deep breath, she quickened her pace to the stairs. She had to leave.

The floor in front of her exploded. Aracely screamed and stumbled back as a man in a suit crashed through and landed on the leftmost wall, "Huh, pack a wallop..." he whispered as he stood. He was tall, easily towering ever her on her tiptoes, with pale white skin and hair and teeth as sharp as a shark's. His suit was covered in dust and tears, but there were no wounds on him.

And then he turned to Aracely and smiled.

"Huh, must be my lucky day." He cracked his neck and strode towards her. Aracely backed away in fear as he reached a hand towards her, "This whole thing's a wash, but at least I can-"

A black and white blur came from the hole and pinned him against the wall. A woman in a full body costume and hood, "Run!" She shot a line of web(?) and yanked open the stairway door before the man grabbed her by the neck and used her as a ram to break through the wall. Aracely ran, hearing the sounds of fighting and struggling behind her. She had to run, had to hide.

She got down into a lower floor before she heard hissing behind her, "Target...acquired..." She screamed and fell on her back when the hissing made way to strangled breathing. A figure appeared out of thin air behind her. He was tall and wiry with a full body suit made of dirty gray fabric. In his hands he had gloves with tipped fingers coated in blood, "Acquiring...target..."

Gunshots came from the window to her right. The man hissed and disappeared again just before a another woman in a black and white costume appeared in front of her, "Aracely, right?" She grabbed Aracely's hand and pulled her up, "Come on, we need to-"

"My...target...!" The man appeared behind her and tried to slash her back. The woman jumped, webbed his back and tried to slam him against the roof. He cut the webs and disappeared again, "Can't...take her...from me...!"

"Wanna bet?" She grabbed Aracely by the arms and said the next words in a rush, "Go limp!"

She threw Aracely through the space between the window. The man hissed in rage and Aracely flew, arcing through the air while water from the rain pelted her. She screamed and stumbled through the air, forgetting to go limp entirely until she finally reached the until then unseen net of webbing.

Aracely couldn't move, "_A-Ayúdame! _Help!" She struggled against the webbing and continued to scream. The woman and the ghost man were fighting and not paying attention to her at all. She looked down and stopped struggling. She was far from the ground; so far that she would've at least broken her legs. In front of her the hospital burned slowly but steadily under the shower of rain.

She stayed still for at least a minute before a woman in a red costume with equally red hair jumped next to her on the web, "Sorry for taking so long." The tips of her fingers sharpened into claws and she cut through the bindings holding Aracely's arms and legs.

Her relief was short lived. She heard them before she saw them: bees. Only a few at first, but then there was suddenly a swarm of them. The mask on the woman's face widened and she cursed, "Shit! Hang on!" She grabbed Aracely with one hand and swung away. The buzzing overpowered her hearing and as the woman swung away the swarm chased after them.

They didn't get far before a ball of fire shot towards them. Aracely screamed and the woman turned quickly so her back could take the brunt of the attack. They both fell and again the woman shielded her the best she could. Aracely flew from the woman's arms and rolled a short distance away. The teenager moaned in pain and could only watch as a scarred man in a thick, padded suit strode towards her, his face hidden by a metal mask.

"P-Please don't..." Aracely reached a hand out.

More gunshots. The bullets bounced of the fiery man's mask and when he turned he was kicked away by another man wearing black. "Aracely!" Lana knelt down next to her and picked her up while the man helped the woman in red, "Are you alright?"

"_S-Si_...yes." She nodded in a rush. Her head rang and she wanted to puke. Aracely held the other girl tightly and bit back her whimpers. Why was this happening? The screams were back and louder than before. She barely even heard Lana's next words.

"We gotta get you out of here. They're here for you." For her? Why? "God this is a fucking shit show..."

"Are you alright, Mary?" The man asked the woman in red.

"F-Fine. Just a scratch." She stood up and the wound at her back was covered by the red of her costume again, "And the name's Scarlet Spider."

"Now's not the- incoming!"

The buzzing again. Aracely screamed when the bees converged into a humanoid figure wearing a cloak, "More food for the hive." His voice was odd. Buzzing and echoing but with the barest hints of an accent. Next to him the fiery man stood and chuckled, low and deep, "Keep your fire away from my swarm."

"Sure. I want the red one." He pointed at her.

"Go! We'll handle this!" The man in black screamed.

Lana nodded and dragged Aracely forcefully. Aracely looked back and saw them fighting before Lana forced her head forward, "Don't look! It's gonna be alright!" She was lying, but Aracely still found the words comforting. They got to the opposite street away from the hospital, "I'm gonna get you outta here and you'll be safe, okay? We just need to-"

Lana grunted like she'd been hit. The older girl looked around frantically before another invisible blow hit her right cheek and made her stumble away from Aracely, "What's wrong, Bombshell?" a man's voice taunted. Lana fired off explosive blasts to the source and the voice laughed, "Ooh, too slow!" Another hit, this time to her gut. Lana spat out the beginnings of vomit and fell on her knees.

"Lana!" Aracely tried to reach for her only for someone to pull her back. She looked back and found a woman in a black and dark green costume with wings on her arms, "_Déjame ir!_" She kicked and struggled against the older woman's grip, but the new figure just sighed and smacked her face. The pain made her whimper.

"Got her, Beetle?" A man in a red and blue outfit suddenly appeared in front of her. He was the one who hurt Lana.

"Yeah, sure. I'll make the delivery. You take care of this little brat."

Lana glared up at them, "You do anything to her and I'll-" The man kicked her in the face again.

Aracely cried and screamed as the woman suddenly took flight, "_Déjame ir!_ She struggled harder, uncaring about the consequences of the fall, "Lana, Lana!"

"Ugh, just shut up! This is why I hate kidnapping jobs!" They flew for a few more seconds before landing on a parking lot filled with cars. Aracely bit down on her fingers and winged woman shoved her to the ground, "You listen here, you little shit. Only reason you're still breathing is cause the client's paying full price to make sure you are. You keep pissing me off, though, and I might decide half price for your corpse is good enough."

"...Bring me back to Lana." Aracely glared up at her.

"Oh? And what bargaining chip have you got, little girl?" Aracely's hands clenched into tight fists. She couldn't fight her; even biting down on her fingers made her teeth ache, "That right, just keep glaring. I don't really care 's long as you stay quiet-"

"St-Stop right there!"

The woman looked to the sudden voice and laughed loudly. Aracely looked past her only to see a man in a frog suit with one of its eyes popped out standing there with his hands on his hips and his chest jutting out. The woman continued laughing, "And just who are you supposed to be, huh?" She stepped forward, ignoring Aracely entirely, "You one of those group of 'heroes' from the hospital?"

"Th-That's right, and you'd better let go of that girl now if you know what's good for you!" A figure snuck behind on the nearby cars. The woman didn't see him at all, "D-Didn't you know? Frog eats beetles!"

The woman didn't get a chance to respond before the car to her direct left suddenly turned on and rushed towards her. She didn't get much more than a surprised 'what the f-' when the car plowed into her full speed and crashed into the rest of the cars parked close by. It kept going, running pushing the pinned woman against the rest of the cars and then eventually just running over her entirely. More cars activated and rushed towards her as well before they she was completely encased in vehicles.

"Lana!" A familiar voice called.

She looked up and smiled in at the face underneath the hood, "Gabriel!" He pulled her to her feet and she hugged him in relief, ignoring the throbbing pain on her cheek, "_Gracias, gracias!_" The man in the frog suit ran up to them and she hugged him too, "_Tu también!_"

"Y-You're welcome!" The man frog said, "C-Come on, we should go before she gets up!"

"Wh-What about Lana?" she asked in slow English.

"We can't help her. Other heroes are on their way, they can-"

The pile of cars suddenly exploded outward. They all scream, the frog man the loudest of all, and fell to the ground in a panic, "That's it!" The woman screamed. Her costume was damaged and one of the eyes off her masks had popped out, showing parts of the face underneath, "Screw the full price! I'm bringing you in stiff!"

The frog man tried to stand and she blasted him to the wall before turning her attention to Gabriel. Time seemed to slow as she aimed the gun to his head. She was scared, but more than that she was angry. Everyone else had saved her and these people - monsters - hurt her friends and the people at the hospital. Aracely raised her right hand said a single word.

"Stop."

The woman froze. Her one exposed eye widened and the hand holding onto the gun shook. She tried to fire, tried to move, but her body refused to obey here, "A-Aracely?" Gabriel looked up at her in shock. Aracely got to her feet and stepped closer, right hand still raised. The woman struggled harder but this time there wasn't even any shaking. She controlled everything in her now.

"Take off your mask." Aracely didn't recognize her own voice. The woman's hands raised slowly and followed her command. Both her eyes were wide and her mouth was open in a scream, but no sound came.

The next two words came before she could stop herself.

"Don't breath."

The woman's mouth shut and she stopped breathing. Her hands began shaking again, trying in vain to reach up to her mouth to pry them open. Her eyes struggled to look at Aracely's, just pleading for mercy. The young girl just stared back passively and counted the seconds. She was crying now, the tears running down her cheeks to the ground below. It wouldn't be long now before it was over.

Gabriel crawled towards her and grabbed her leg, "Aracely...stop..."

His touch felt like a bucket of ice cold water. The woman had passed out now and stood dead on her feet. Aracely looked up at her in shock and reached out a tentative hand. As soon as her fingers made contact the older woman fell on her back and lay still. She was still alive - her body remembering to breath now that she was unconscious - but what Aracely had done to her...

"What...What was that?" Gabriel asked shakily.

"I...I do not know..." she whispered, equally shaky.

Their equal shock was cut off by the frog man's groans. Gabriel ran towards him in a panic with Aracely following soon after, "Eugene, are you alright?" He grabbed one of his hands to pull him up and Aracely took the other. They both grunted with effort; the suit made him heavy.

"Y-Yeah, I'm good. Suit took the most of it." He looked past them to the unconscious woman, "What the heck happened to her."

"Who cares? Let's just get out of here." Gabriel gave her a look. The message was clear: don't say anything. Aracely nodded and followed after them, her previous fear replaced by something else entirely.

* * *

"A Nazi made of bees! Are you kidding me?!"

Mary Jane swung through the air and batted away the swarm that chased after her. Down on the streets below Peter dodged the balls and jets of fire from the fire guy - Cindy called him 'Pyro' - and shot between the volleys. The bullets just bounced off. Whatever was in that suit it made his bullets look like bb's.

She landed on the wall and dodged the next fireball aimed at her face, "Too close!" Peter jumped through a ring of fire and punched him in the face. The mask dented, but Pyro just laughed, "Is that the best you got?" Mary Jane shuddered. He sounded like a guy who smoked twenty packs a day and chewed sandpaper for fun. What little skin she could see was rough and leathery from burns.

More bees came for her. Mary Jane shot a line of webbing and the swarm suddenly parted so it passed harmlessly, _**'Rrgh, where do we cut? There's no body!'** _Crimson screamed in rage. Mary Jane found herself agreeing. The swarm surrounded her now and morphed her hands into blades to try and cut through them. She got a few, but the stinging and buzzing made her lose focus and she fell to the ground.

Pyro aimed for her and she raised both hands to protect herself. Peter suddenly came up, tackled him against the wall and pinned him to the surface under a net of webbing, "Get up." He pulled her up with one hand and slashed through the air with a knife with the other. He actually managed to cut a few of them down, but for every one he sliced dozens more took their place.

And then he pulled a grenade from his belt. She almost screamed at him before he tossed it against the ground and smoke started billowing out. There was a sudden chuckling around them, "Did you think that would work?" Peter started looking around and replaced his knife with another, "These bees are under my control! Smoke will not make them panic!" A _face_ appeared out of the swarm in front of them, "You will-"

Peter slashed the new knife through his head. She thought it'd just pass through harmlessly like the rest of her attacks, but instead the swarm reformed to a humanoid shape and it used both 'hands' to cover its face, "You...what did you do to me?!" When he lowered his 'hands' again there was a noticeable gap between where its eyes should have been, "That...That hurt! How?!"

"Hellfire. Stings, doesn't it?" He raised the knife again, "Come and get me."

Swarm (great name right there) snarled and charged towards them in a rage. Peter slashed through his right 'arm' and rolled to the right with Mary Jane following to avoid another stream of fire, "Why don't you use that hellfire thing to stab Mr. Crispy over there?" Another stream of fire. Mary Jane grabbed Peter and jumped, the fire just barely grazing the heels off her feet.

"Try not to use it on people too much. Besides, Cindy wants him alive. Thinks he'll be the chattiest." Another fireball. Mary Jane tossed him up and he tossed a flashbang at Pyro's feet. She caught him just in time for the explosion to blind the pyromaniac.

She landed clear on the other side of the street and set him down. Another explosion came from the hospital's fourth floor and Gwen was suddenly flung out. She stumbled through the air briefly before regaining her balance and landing in a crouch next to them, "Hey guys." She gave them a forced, cheery wave. Some parts of her costume were singed, but otherwise she seemed fine.

"You alright?" Mary Jane asked.

"Just fine. Better now that I'm not in that oven." She remained crouching and narrowed her eyes as Tombstone (another winner of a name) jumped from the fourth floor to the ground, cracking it on impact. Pyro strode up next to him the picture of confidence while Swarm returned to his humanoid forms sans his right 'arm' and a chunk of 'face', "Anyone know where Spinerette and Striker are?"

An explosion came from behind them. Peter looked up and Lana landed next to them shakily. Her face was bruised and the right side of her lip was busted open, "Hey...sorry, I need your help."

"Who did that to you?" Peter asked in a soft snarl.

"That'd be me." A fast guy in red and blue zipped past them and leaned against Pyro with a shit-eating grin on his face, "Kinda hit her a bit hard. Now my momma always told me never to hit girls, but I figures this was fair game." Something about that southern accent pissed Mary Jane off. Maybe it was cause of that damn grin or maybe it was cause Kasady had one too.

"...You're _dead_." She could see Peter's glare even through his mask.

The lanky guy in gray suddenly appeared in the to the right of Tombstone, "The target...has escaped..."

"Aww, don't worry 'bout that! Hot stuff's takin' care of her."

"That's my daughter you're talking about." Tombstone said in that creepy as hell mad whisper, "What happened to the other Spider?"

"I...made a...tactical retreat..."

"Funny of saying you ran like a chicken." Cindy jumped from the third floor window and landed right next to Gwen. Apart from a few tears on her upper arms and her stomach she looked fine, "So...five on five?" Cindy looked at each of them in turn. They all nodded back at her before she faced the group of Supervillains in front of them, "Fine. Let's do this mano-e-mano."

"We are not...paid to fight..." Ghost guy rasped.

"Nah, but it's fun." Pyro chuckled.

"Enough with the chatter. Let's go." Peter raised both hands and they all matched him.

It was one of the longest couple of seconds in Mary Jane's life. One second they were standing across one another like opponents in an arena and the next they were charging like madmen. Mary Jane's body practically moved on its own and before she knew it she was in the air with a fist primed and aimed straight for Tombstone's face.

The impact shook her to her core. The reverb traveled from her fist down to the rest of her body and it was enough to make her teeth chatter. Tombstone stumbled _very_ slightly and Mary Jane scrambled back to avoid his counterattack, "Hey, back off!" Gwen kicked him in the face with both feet and snagged him in a lasso of webbing. With a small grunt of effort she yanked him from the ground and threw him to a nearby parked car. The throw was enough to almost cleave through the car entirely.

From behind her, Lana fired off blasts towards Speed Demon (if she remembered his name correctly), "Ooh, missed me!" Another blast. He whizzed past Lana and and tripped her to the ground, "Come on, you gotta be faster than that!" She fired again. This time he appeared next to a (somehow intact) mailbox and leaned against it, yawning, "Man, this is borin'!"

Peter aimed and shot him from across the field. He didn't bother running that time and just dodged in place, even making goofy poses while he did it. Pyro reared and aimed behind him, "Spider-Man, look out!" His head moved by the barest amount - his spider-sense? - and he jumped to avoid the blast. Mary Jane grabbed a manhole cover and threw it full force straight to the guy's head.

He saw and raised his arms at the last second to (just barely) block the makeshift projectile. Pyro let out an inhuman sounding scream and glared at her. The metal on his arms were wrecked, exposing the worn and padded cloth underneath. She didn't have a spider-sense, but she could've sworn she heard everything inside her screaming just before a wall of fire came rushing towards her.

Lana aimed at the floor and propelled herself towards Mary Jane. The younger girl tackled her out of the way just in time to avoid the large jet of flame. They rolled along the ground in a heap and as soon as she was stable enough she aimed a glowing fist straight at Pyro.

Buzzing reached her ears. Mary Jane's eyes widened and she pulled Lana close, "Hold on!" She expanded Crimson around her till there was a globe of red, pulsating flesh surrounding them. She couldn't see, but she could feel the dozens - _hundreds_ \- of bees stabbing into the barrier. Even a few seconds late and it would've reached them. She would've been fine, but she didn't like Lana's chances.

More rapid, stronger impacts suddenly circled them. Speed Demon was breaking the barrier down. She didn't even get a chance to brace herself before the fleshy shield dissipated from the force of the blows and Lana was kicked right in the jaw, "Lana!" She reached out a hand towards her before a sudden hand grabbed her hair and tugged harshly.

"Why don't we leave her alone, huh, sweetheart?" he drawled cockily, "What say you and me have some alone time, huh? Always did like me a redhead." His grip on her hair tightened and Mary Jane grinned.

"Heh...**_sure_**."

A blood red spike suddenly impaled itself through the palm that had grabbed her hair. Speed Demon looked down at his bloodstained hand, mouth open in disbelief, before he _screamed_. Without giving him a chance to run, Mary Jane morphed her right arm into a blade and spun, making sure to aim down.

When Lana looked up the last thing she expected was to see Speed Demon crawling on the ground missing both of his runners chopped off. She almost felt sorry for him. Almost, "Hah..." She focused her attention to Swarm and raised a fist towards him. She aimed at where the cluster was the thickest and fired.

Dozens of bugs exploded into gooey little piles. The racist bastard tried reform himself and Lana kept firing, shooting faster and larger explosions wherever he tried to regenerate, "Shoulda swapped bad guys, Scarlet..." Lana stood and kept up the assault.

Cindy unholstered both guns and paid attention to every little footstep, every rasping breath, "Where are you..." Breathing behind her. She turned and fired. The bullets whizzed through the air and hit nothing but dead air, "Damn it..." She replaced the empty magazines and moved till she stood back to back with Noir, "Hey, wanna swap baddies like they did?"

"You take firestarter and I take the ghost?"

"You know it."

They nodded at one another and Cindy charged towards Pyro. Truth be told she wanted it this day. They'd arrived just a bit too late and she saw the effects of his handiwork in the lobby. Doctors, nurses, patients and even people just visiting loved ones; all burnt to a crisp without being able to fight back. She and Gwen did her best to evacuate everyone that was left, but even one person lost was too much.

Time for payback.

She put the guns away, "Aww, trying to play the hero?" Pyro laughed cockily and shot flames from his hands in a wide jet. She didn't know if he was one of the people who got lucky from Terrigen Mist or another kind of freak entirely, and she didn't care. It wouldn't have changed anything, "Come on then, itsy bitsy spider, and I'll show you that it's not just the water you gotta-"

She kicked him right in the crotch. The unexpectedness of the attack cut off his taunt and she could've sworn she heard the guy _squeak_, "What's wrong? Nothing else to say?" She ducked under the clumsy flaming swipes and countered with her own kicks. Four hits, each of them on his face. His mask dented more and more with every blow, "You were saying something about spiders, Pyro?"

"You-"

"Actually, don't really care." She kicked him in the chest hard and knocked him against the wall. She felt his ribs crack even from underneath his multi-layer vest and he coughed out blood through the slits of his mask. A lot of people thought that because she used gun and wasn't as much a brawler as Gwen or that she didn't have super strength like her. Looked like Pyro was one of them.

He screamed and shot a large barrage of fire at her. Cindy webbed herself up to the wall above him and stood horizontal from the surface. Pyro looked up just in time her to unholster her guns and shoot a bullet through each of his hands.

The fire stopped immediately. Pyro knelt on the ground and stared at the bloody appendages as Cindy landed in front of him. Without a single word exchanged she kicked the left side of his head and knocked him to the ground. He was out cold.

"You are...the Spider-Man..." Peter held his gun in a tight grip. The guy's voice sounded like nails on a chalkboard, "Bounty on your head...significant..."

"Come and get it, then." His spider-sense blared and he flipped to the side to avoid the barrage of laser blasts at his feet. He heard about the guy. Ghost, real name unknown. Usually a corporate saboteur, but he wasn't above taking any kind of job for payment. He got his name from that suit he had. Invisibility, intangibility, that damn reverb in his voice; it was like he really was a ghost.

Except he couldn't stay gone forever.

He'd seen it before when the bastard fought Cindy through the window: for a precious few seconds he stopped being immaterial to the world and was back to the world of the living. Of course he was still invisible so Cindy couldn't take advantage of it.

Peter didn't have that problem.

As soon as he heard the first solid footstep Peter took aim at where his midsection would be and fired. The creepy bastard hissed and Peter kept firing. He was running now, trying to dodge and weave and make Peter lose track, but Peter smelled his blood in the air. He was desperate, "You are...like me..." Peter internally rolled his eyes. Sure. He was only the dozenth half-bit clown to say that, but sure, he was the one who was right.

Peter disappeared. The creepy bastard hissed in frustration and Peter fired at the source again. This time the blood was spilling out of his suit to the asphalt below, "You're gonna bleed out." The smell was so pungent he could practically see him. Ghost fired in his general direction and Peter aimed a shot for his leg this time. There was a pained hiss and he appeared lying on the floor just before Peter punched him in the face hard enough to knock him out.

Separate from the others, Gwen once again found herself being used as a battering ram as Tombstone used her to smash through the bricked building and into a lobby. The brush with fire earlier left Webster still shivering around her, "You ain't as strong as I thought you'd be." Tombstone whispered. He raised her over his head and threw her to a to the corner.

Gwen shot two lines of webbing past him and pulled, propelling herself towards him. She kicked him in the face and flipped back into a crouch, "Ow! Seriously, what is your skin made of?" She dodged his overhead smash and yanked his head down to her level, "Eugh, talk about a face only a mother could love!" She kicked him straight in the jaw and followed it up with an uppercut strong enough to push him up to the air.

Gwen jumped and continued her attacks until he landed on his back. She flipped back to recover and he suddenly grabbed her left leg, "Damn bug!" He tossed her clean through the front desk. Gwen felt the wind get knocked out of her and she coughed.

**'Gwen, are you alright?'**

_'Yeah, just fine.' _She coughed again and froze at the scared pair of eyes that greeted her. A little boy, maybe 7 or 8, holding onto a stuffed bear for dear life, "What...? What are you...?" She must've lived in one of the apartments above them.

The child was frozen in fear. How long had he been here, so scared that he couldn't even move because the fighting outside wasn't better? Gwen reached out a hand towards him and he was suddenly yanked away by his collar, "What's this, huh? We got ourselves an audience?" Tombstone grinned down at the shivering little boy and laughed lowly. Then his smile disappeared, "Never liked kids. Or witnesses. Sadly for you, you're both."

Tombstone was going to hurt him- no, worse. The mouth of Gwen's mask split apart to reveal rows of razor sharp teeth, "**Let go of him!**" The albino criminal's face slackened in shock at her sudden, monstrous look and Gwen tackled him. The boy fell from his grasp and Gwen didn't stop till they were clear outside. She threw him towards one of the wrecked cars without holding back and he crashed through it.

She didn't give him a chance to recover. Gwen landed on top of him and struck. Once, twice, three times...by the half dozenth mark he'd lost most of his teeth. He raised his hand and she grabbed, twisted and threw him back to the other side through another car.

"I...I give..." She kicked his outstretched hand. Her foot hurt from the force of the blow, but it was nothing compared to the sickening crack he got. Tombstone pleaded again and Gwen almost stomped on his face before Cindy's voice reached her ears.

"Gwen! That's enough!"

Foot still raised, she looked back and found the rest of the group staring at her. There was no judgement in their eyes. Gwen looked back down at the mumbling Tombstone and stomped her foot inches from his head. The concrete cracked from the impact, "I better not see you out of prison." She stepped off him and her grotesque mouth disappeared too, replaced by the smooth surface of her mask.

Without waiting for the others to say anything, she rushed back to the apartment lobby and found the kid sprawled on the ground, "Are you alright?" She knelt down and gently picked him up. He looked scared, but thankfully unharmed, "Does anywhere hurt? Please tell me."

"N-No, I'm fine..." He smiled up at her even though he looked like he was seconds from tears, " Th-Thank you for saving me..."

"No...you shouldn't have gotten involved at all." She didn't blame herself. These bastards attacked the hospital, not them. The place was burning by the time they got there, "The police will be here soon, okay? Just listen to what they say."

"Y-Yeah!" He nodded, oddly energetic despite the recent scare.

"Good." Gwen ruffled his head affectionately and walked out to meet the others. Tombstone, Pyro and Ghost were already webbed up by Cindy while Speed Demon was wailing in the corner about his lost extremities that Peter had covered in webbing. Despite what she nearly did to Tombstone she felt pity for him...and scared at the idea that MJ was the one who did it, "Is...Is he gonna be alright? I mean, is he gonna..."

"Die? Not sure. He heals pretty fast, and Peter did some mystical bs thing to make sure he doesn't bleed. Ain't getting those legs back, though." Cindy sighed, "Swarm got away."

"Should've blasted him more..." Lana mumbled. She definitely took the worst of them with her bruises and dried blood.

"He'll turn up again. We'll get him next time." Peter muttered. Gwen heard sirens in the distance along with what sounded like more Initiative Heroes, "Cavalry's late, as usual." He sighed, "Come on, we should get outta here."

They all nodded in tired agreement and followed Cindy out.

* * *

He was in Spinerette's apartment. Holy shit.

Eugene looked around the interior of the decently sized condo. It was smaller than he expected for someone being bankrolled by the Wasp and Tony Stark, but it definitely beat his place. He guessed it made sense. They already had the Avengers Mansion (generously donated by Tony Stark), but they didn't need that for a day to day. It was more a secret base thing...well, a secret base that did the occasional tour.

That was Tony Stark's idea too. People paid big bucks to see where the Avengers slept.

The rest of the team were sprawled in varying states of tired all across the living room. Striker took up the biggest chair and was sprawled across it lazily with one hand pressing an ice bag against her bruises/ On a slightly smaller chair was the red Spider-Woman - Scarlet Spider, she called herself - who matched Lana's posture. Her long red hair spilled to the floor and she propped her feet up on the table. Her mask was still on.

And then there was Spider-Man and Spider-Woman. Spider-Woman took up the entire right side of the couch and she while Spider-Man was lying down on his back with his head on her lap. Spider-Woman absently ran her hand through his hair and judging by his soft breathing Eugene guessed that he was sleeping. Either that or he was faking it really well.

Damn it he was so jealous. There Spider-Man was on Spider-Woman's lap while he and Gabriel were banished to the kitchen table. The younger teen was already poring through his laptop and typing up something Eugene couldn't see. Spinerette was in one of the other rooms trying to put Aracely to sleep. He still didn't know how Beetle got knocked out, but he wasn't gonna look a gift horse in the mouth.

Spinerette eventually came out after a few minutes, "Finally put her to sleep. Had to feed her some relaxatives, though." She brought a hand through her soot soaked hair and glared half-heartedly at the assorted heroes, "You guys really need to clean yourselves up, sooner the better. G- Uh, Spider-Woman and Pete, you two go first. Scarlet and Lana can go after." Her eyes flicked to him and Gabriel and Eugene frowned. Why didn't he trust her with their secret identities? Didn't he prove himself?

"...You want us to go in together?" Spider-Man muttered.

"What, like you don't already?" Striker's mouth twitched while Scarlet Spider raised her head slightly. What was _that_? "No need to be shy. Come on, you two are tracking muck everywhere. I'll web up some replacement clothes for you both."

"Fine." Spider-Woman said, too exhausted to argue. She and Spider-Man made their way to the bathroom and locked it with a soft click. Eugene felt another bubble of jealousy. There was Spider-Woman _naked and showering_ behind that door and only one person could see. And join in.

Spinerette suddenly looked towards them, "Right...I don't wanna be rude, but we're gonna be talking about some personal team stuff so...could you two go out for now? I mean, you don't need any medical attention, right?" She looked to Eugene. He didn't; the suit took most of the damage and the bruises would heal on their own.

"But-"

"Yeah, that's cool." Gabriel put his laptop in his bag and stood. Eugene still had no idea how he hacked those cars, "We'll talk to Ms. Winters about what happened. She might be able to help out."

"Good idea." Spinerette gave him a thumbs up and a wink, "Call me if you two get anything."

Before he could argue any further, Gabriel grabbed Eugene and practically dragged him to the elevator. The frog-based hero couldn't say anything and just watched listlessly as the elevator doors closed. He knew Spinerette's address now, but it wouldn't do him any good. To even open the door you needed some kind of passcode and she wasn't even listed as the owner - anyone trying to search would just get a bunch of shell corporations. Apparently it was because of something S.H.I.E.L.D did.

It was only when they were outside that Eugene realized how exhausted he was. He couldn't believe it'd only been a few hours. His costume - which he still hadn't taken off - felt unbearably hot and he'd refused Spinerette's offer for new clothes. He didn't want to carry it on top of everything else.

"Man, Spider-Man's so lucky..." Eugene said after a few minutes.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Gabriel asked.

"I mean he gets to stay up there with all of them!" Eugene took off his mask so he could breath easier, "He already has Spider-Woman and now he's in a team with Striker, Spinerette and the Scarlet Spider! Aren't you jealous?"

"Ah...kinda. I like Lana, but she still likes Spider-Man." Gabriel smiled sadly and kicked a small pebble, "I'm cool with it, though. Lana's my friend. If she can be more than that then that'd be amazing, but if not I'm still happy we're at least friends."

"Yeah, maybe..." Eugene frowned. He knew he could impress Spider-Woman if he just had the chance, "Hey...hypothetical question, but what do you think are the chances of Spider-Woman and Spider-Man breaking up?"

"Uh...I dunno, I don't really read up on the gossip."

"N-No reason, just...you know, curious."

"Dude, don't." Gabriel adjusted the laptop bag's strap's place on his shoulder, "I know you like her - you and like a million fanboys - but you kinda sound like a creep asking questions like that."

"H-Hey..."

"I'm just saying. If they break up or not, it's not any of your or anyone else's business. They have lives too." He shrugged and smiled slightly, "But hey, you were pretty cool back there when we were saving Aracely from Beetle."

"R-Really?"

"Yeah. I...I couldn't have gotten her attention like that." He licked his lips nervously.

"Y-You were pretty cool too! How'd you hack those cars?"

"Oh, it's a program I got from my old friend Amadeus. I'm not a master hacker or anything, but I picked up some stuff." He stopped at the apartment building, "Come on, let's go meet Ms. Winters."

They made their way up and Gabriel knocked on the door, "Coming!" There was a rush of footsteps and a (surprisingly) pretty blonde opened the door with a grin. She was somewhat unkempt - her hair tied in a clumsy bun and wearing a coffee-stained pink shirt and a pair of black sweatpants - but she was still a looker. The scar on her cheek only added to it. If he wasn't a one (Spider-)Woman he definitely would've been more in shock. He didn't think they made journalists like her outside of comics.

"Ms. Winters?" Gabriel asked nervously.

"Yeah, Spinny said you were coming. And please, it's Norah. No one calls me Ms. Winters."

Gabriel shook her hand eagerly, "I-I read up on a lot of your articles! Especially the ones about the Charon and Noir group." Norah blinked and smiled sheepishly, obviously not used to Gabriel's fanboying, "I-It's an honor to work with you Ms- ah, Norah!"

"Ha, and they say newspaper's a dying breed!" She looked at them both and jerked her thumb inside, "Well come on, let's get to work."

* * *

Back at her apartment, Cindy heaved a sigh of relief as she stepped out of the bathroom in a fresh pair of tanktop and shorts. The brunette toweled off her wet hair and smiled slightly when she saw Lana, Peter, MJ and Gwen sitting around the table and eating Dominos (apparently _that_ was a universal constant) Pizza. McDonalds turned into McDaniels but Dominos and Chuck-e-Cheeses still existed. What a world.

Good thing she checked for bugs last night. Daisy was (kinda) her friend, but she still left bugs everywhere to spy on her. All part of the job, she said. Cindy gave up arguing and just wrecked them (spin-sense helped). Eventually she'd get tired of losing thousand dollar bugs that never gave her anything.

"Planning the party without me?" Cindy grabbed a slice of pizza and opened the fridge to take out two six-packs of beer, "Alright everyone, drink up!" She tossed one to all of them- yes, even Lana. She'd seen and done enough that spider-cop could let up on the drinking age thing.

"Cheers!" Gwen said. They all drank with varying degrees of excitement. She'd been the one to suggest this, just staying to unwind. They were all exhausted, even Mr. Zombie over there. When was the last time any of them had even slept for at least 8 hours? Or without having to worry about being shot at the next day? They needed this. Thank God for convenience store beer and 24 hour pizza places.

"Fuck, this tastes like heaven after eating that prissy private school food." Lana finished off her can and took another can, "Tastes better than Pete's piss whiskey, that's for sure."

"You just don't have good taste." Peter sipped at the beer almost daintily, "You don't have anything stronger, Cin?"

"I'm not a whiskey and vodka kind of guy, Pete." She sat across from him and picked up another slice of pizza, "'Sides, I don't want to get too hammered. I _do_ have work tomorrow and Lana has classes, I'm pretty sure."

"Heh, gonna be _real_ fucking fun explaining these." Lana gestured to the bandages and gauze pads that covered the wounds on her face. She looked to MJ, "Speaking of, I knew me and Gayle made you a costume, but I didn't think you'd start running around so soon."

"Yeah, well, when you see a hospital blow you tend to take notice." They all got quiet at that. They'd done their best to minimize the damages and evacuate as many people as they could, but of course there were still casualties. Most of them already knew and accepted that they couldn't save everyone, but it didn't mean they had to _like_ it, "I didn't really do much, though."

"'Cept take Speed Douche down a notch, you mean." Gwen winced slightly. Among the entire group she was still the least used to brutality. Least he was still alive, that helped her guilty conscience, "Eh, you'll get there soon. I didn't start off well either. Remind me to tell you about the time I nearly got Pete and me blown up by a booby trap." Peter grunted and rubbed his back.

"Well...I think it's a good look for you, Scarlet Spider." Gwen smiled at Mary Jane and the redhead blushed slightly. Yep, there was definitely something there. Something Cindy wasn't gonna touch with a Hydra Nuke size pole cause she had enough problems of her own, "Uh, I hate to bring it up, but what about that Aracely kid? She was the one they were after."

"Yeah..." Lana sipped her beer morosely, "Gabe actually told me. When they got cornered by that bitch Beetle Aracely just...he said she mind controlled him? Aracely said she should stop breathing and she stopped breathing. Like...fuck, that's creepy."

"Telepath. I've run into a few of them before," Peter muttered, "Least Aracely was alone. You make them siblings and the crazy just gets amplified. Those damn Cuckoos nearly made me blow my brains out."

"You know, the more you tell me about your 'adventures' the more I start thinking I should've kept you locked up for the year," Gwen said flatly.

"It's actually not just telepathy." Cindy put a finger to her lips, stood and walked quietly to the guest bedroom door. She opened the door just enough so they could see what she'd been privy to before: Aracely sleeping and floating at least five feet off the bed. Her closed eyes and calm breaths made it clear she hadn't noticed anything was wrong. Cindy shut the door and returned to her chair, "Yeah...I'm kinda seeing why those guys wanted her."

"Fuck, what have I gotten myself into..." Lana groaned.

"You mean 'we'." Cindy looked at each of them in turn, "I know we're all 'fiercely independent' and don't like asking for help, but one thing's clear: we'd have gotten our butts handed to us without the others there...except maybe Gwen, but you don't count. That suit of yours is busted."

"Webster said she'd take that as a compliment." Gwen raised her can.

"Point is, we work together. We all have each other's numbers - except MJ, which we'll fix - and if the going gets tough then we call, damn pride and that little voice in your head, you all know the ones, telling you that you don't need any help."

"The power of friendship. How very Disney of you." Despite the snark, Mary Jane's smile was genuine, "Well...sure."

"I'm in." Lana shrugged.

"Me too." Gwen smiled.

"Sure, but I'll still keep some things to myself. Something tells me none of you wanna start making a habit of fighting demons or performing exorcisms." He was right there. The less mystical BS, the better.

She was about to shoot something back when the doorbell suddenly rang. Everyone tensed immediately, "Expecting visitors, Cin?"

"Nope." She unholstered her gun (generally dissuaded people more than a fist) and stalked to the door. The others remained at the table, postures ready. Cindy swallowed her nerves and looked through the peephole.

Only to immediately curse herself for being so damn forgetful.

"Ryan." She opened the door just a crack and forced a smile on her face, "Hey...this really isn't a good time right now." She rushed through her list of excuses - her cat got sick, she got home late from work and she was secretly a superhero in disguise who just needed to chill right now. Okay maybe not that last one, but she still did her best to make it clear that this was not happening.

It took a couple of minutes but eventually she got him to leave. Cindy closed the door and pressed her forehead against the (reinforced) wood briefly with a sigh. Without another word she trudged back to the table and got another can of beer.

"Uh...what the heck was that?" Mary Jane asked.

"My poor time management skills." Cindy sighed again, "I was supposed to meet that guy over for an...well, something. After what happened at the hospital I completely forgot all about it."

"Where'd you meet this guy?" Lana asked.

"This...This dating app called Flint."

"And by 'dating' you mean 'one night stands'," Gwen said.

"Oh, are you really gonna start throwing shade Ms. 'Oh Peter, you should put your web in my mouth'?"

"I-I did _not_ say that!" The blush on both Gwen and Peter's faces said otherwise. Funny, Cindy was just guessing. Lana rolled her eyes in annoyance while Mary Jane covered her face with both hands and groaned, "And I wasn't judging! You can do whatever the heck you want with your free time. It's just...you always complained about not getting a date before so I thought you'd go on actual dating apps."

"Never have time. Least this way I get something out of it and no one leaves pissed...except Ryan, cause I totally just blew him off." She clicked her tongue, "And hey, what about everyone else's embarassing little secrets, huh? We've all had a busy year, so I think this is the perfect time for a little confessing." Cindy grinned, "Time to air out all the dirty secrets."

"Ugh, you've unleashed a monster, Gwencent." MJ groaned again.

"Don't you feel lucky, Pete?" Lana grinned jokingly at him.

"For what?"

"You are officially the one guy in an all-girl sleepover. I knew a dozen guys who'd kill for this. Know frog boy definitely would."

"Yes, how lucky of me." He sighed and finished off his first can, "Fine, I'll play; I know I can't really say no here."

"I'm game too. But Cindy goes first, cause I don't count that Ryan dude. You didn't tell us that willingly," Gwen said.

"Fine, fine..." Cindy tapped her chin briefly and then smiled, "Hey...I ever tell you guys I slept with Thor?"

* * *

**Villains averted, Heroes triumphant and Frog-Man continues to be useless. Okay, he had a _tiny_ moment for a second there, so _maybe_ he's finally getting somewhere now that he's helping Norah. Maybe. Big if.**

**As said above, the first and last segments were the most enjoyable for me. The first because it shows the villains from the POV of a non-combatant and it shows just how terrifying they can be when you don't have badass skills and/or powers. The last segment because I rarely ever get to write the five protags together all at once and it hopefully shows the far lighter and less dysfunctional tone of V2 where everyone mostly gets along.**

**Next chapter will be decided by the question below:**

**Questions:**

**1\. Pick which 2-3 of the 5 protags you guys wanna follow first. The remaining will follow after:**

**\- Noir working with Daimon Hellstorm (V) and Ghost Rider (basically Dante) to interrupt Bakuto making a deal with Lilith. Hopefully won't be dead weight.**  
**\- Gwen visiting Wasp with Venom to get more information on their new baby. Also investigating costumed baddies gaining stronger tech.**  
**\- Cindy going back to work to investigate a new swathe of Gifted kidnappings. And possibly more Laura and Shadowcat.**  
**\- Lana balancing school life and hero work along with trying to find out more about Aracely's origin and powers. **  
**\- Mary Jane's attempts of reconciling her desire to be a hero with Carnage's bloodlust along with her getting involved in the Hobgoblin's schemes.**

**2\. I've heard it before, but would you guys really want a clone saga here? I've seen _particular_ interest in the possible appearance of a male Gwen clone cause everyone loves Ultimate Jessica Drew. **

**Review Answers:**

**Cha0s4ever - Well, I used Tombstone and _a_ Beetle.**

**Guest 1 - To be honest, anyone cheating on anyone is pretty unlikely in this fic.**

**AlexTheSouthParkGhostRider - No 616 characters. No inter-dimensional characters really. Screws with the scale.**

**Noisy-Cricket - Wow, you have a really flattering view of my expectation meeting. No plans for Mr. Sinister since not much of an X-Men fan. As for Matt making it weird...eh, Gwen's just overreacting. Then again she's always been a tad jealous when she feels threatened.**

**Guest 2 - Yes, Daimon was a V reference; even mentioned in the previous authors notes. No to Peter getting demon powers, though. He's a weak but skilled gear based character for the most part.**

**Brave2000 - Think you double posted there.**

**Titan616 - Yeah, I enjoyed writing Sue and Lana since I particularly like writing opposite characters who genuinely get along and like each other. As for religion...Gwen doesn't really consider it, especially since she can now casually meet Asgardians by booking a fight to Cleveland.**

**I win gg - Been a while. Please don't turn the comments section into a minefield again, thanks.**

**Guest 3 - Why is Cindy being 28 a dealbreaker? Peter's 18's during V1 and a ten year difference doesn't really matter, especially considering they both very likely have enhanced lifespans. **


	13. Spider-Man's Harem (Not Really)

**This is a breather chapter. I wanted to give people a chance to pitch in their votes for the next story segments and I wanted to write the characters interacting in a much more lighthearted setting since apparently you guys really like that. I was actually gonna skip this part but a few reviewers really wanted the confession scene written. I added a Matt segment to bolster the word count and here we are.**

**Anyway, current vote number:**

**Noir - 13**

**Gwen - 11**

**Mary Jane - 5**

**Lana - 11**

**Cindy - 9**

**Man, poor MJ got left in the freaking dust :( I thought people liked her Scarlet Spider segments? It was the main reason she became a protagonist on her own right rather than being a side-character for Gwen. Still, currently Noir is leading followed by either Gwen or Lana. If you haven't voted yet for which order you want to see then please do so :)**

**Side Note - I also read the preview for Ghost Spider 8 and...wow, MJ's a _bitch_ in it. In the previous volume she was one of the most supportive of Gwen after finding out her identity and we see that finding out about Gwen's double life changed her for the better. Now she's suddenly turned around and accusing Gwen of being an attention whore who can't stand not being front and center and griping jealously that if _she _had powers things would be different. **

**Are they trying to turn her into Earth-65 Venom ala Eddie Brock? Cause this sudden about face from her previous character development and behavior is a major turn off.**

* * *

"Alright, Mary Jane, your turn."

Gwen took a long gulp of her beer and grinned at the redhead. Cindy had just finished regaling them about her one night of passion with Thor. Apparently it was pretty easy: just make sure you could hold your drink, laugh at his jokes and tell him how big and hard his hammer was. Gwen still wasn't sure whether Cindy meant that last part literally or not.

"Well...I dunno." Mary Jane licked her lips, "I'm not like you guys, you know? I'm pretty new to the whole Superhero thing." Except for when she wasn't. Gwen still hadn't talked to her about it, but the new costume and MJ clarifying that she was in the _Superhero _business was a good sign. Maybe one day they could talk about the things they got up to when the other wasn't looking.

"Come on, there has to be something." Lana leaned back and rolled her eyes. They'd transferred from the kitchen table back to the living room so the teenager was sprawled across a beanbag. Mary Jane sat on the chair next to her while she, Cindy and Peter were on the couch, "Doesn't even have to be from this year. Secrets don't stop being embarrassing cause of the timestamp."

"Uh...I don't have any embarassing secrets?"

"Uh...you're not a very good liar, MJ?" Gwen snarked, "Seriously, we're all friends here. What happens in Cindy's apartment stays in Cindy's apartment." Same way her and Peter doing it by the shore never got out of the lakehouse.

"Fine, fine! Ugh, you're the worst, Gwencent." Gwen threw her a smug, self-satisfied smile, "Okay, um...okay, uh, there was a time I stalked a guy. Does that count?"

"Stalking? Absolutely." Cindy leaned forward with a smile, "I mean, not unless it was a criminal you were tailing back to his lair. Cause if it is we should just move on now."

"No, no. It was...It was back when I was 16." Gwen listened raptly while Peter just looked confused, as if the idea of stalking someone for anything other than investigation was alien to him. Such a poor, innocent boy he was, "There was this guy, a senior. I think you remember him, Gwen? Name of Ryan, wore the leather jacket and played a lot of pool?"

"Oh, yeah! Dirty Ryan!" So aptly named cause...actually, she didn't know why. She kinda just assumed it was cause he didn't bathe, but the amount of girls he he made out with kinda disproved that. Either that or everyone just had really low standards, "Wait, seriously? Dirty Ryan? I thought you had better taste than that, MJ." She shook her head and made sure to add just the right amount of annoying judgement in her tone.

"Oh, screw you! I was young and he said he loved me!" She crossed her arms and huffed, "He cornered me after practice. Gotta give the guy credit, he knew his stuff. Talked about my favorite bands, complimented my music; if he put that much effort into studying he probably would've beaten Sajani to Valedictorian." And Pete if he hadn't- no, bad thoughts! "So anyway we got to chatting and...well, I was hooked."

"So you fell for the bad boy with the jacket. Everyone has that." Lana snorted, "Get to the juicy part, Watson. When did you make the stalker shrine?"

"I didn't...make a stalker shrine!" MJ shouted back, her face red, "I just...after we started kinda-dating it was pretty good. We made out, had dates, talked about music...it was good. I even got a ride on his motorcycle." Gwen snorted. What was with everyone and motorcycles? Web-swinging was all the rage these days, "But after that...he started ghosting me. No contact on headbook, never picked up my calls, ignored me on the hallway. It was like we were strangers."

"I'm gonna take a guess that he was cheating on you?" Peter asked bluntly. Gwen elbowed his side lightly, "What? It makes the most sense."

"That's what I thought too, so I started I started to...follow him. I don't mean I started taking locks of his hair or anything. I mean I looked through his headbook friends list, asked his buddies what he got up to...and maybe I followed him outside of school and he didn't know I was there." Gwen raised a brow, "Hey, I know I should've just went up to the guy and demanded to know what the eff was going on, but I was young and dumb-"

"And full of cum. Yes, we've established this," Lana interrupted, "So what happened? Was he cheating on you or did you find out he was gay?"

"The second one, actually." Well..._that_ didn't go the way she thought it would, "Yeah, so I followed him and caught him making out with one of his guy friends. I...may or may not have blown up at the guy asking what the fuck was going on. Then he told me he didn't want to admit he was gay cause of his family and that he tried going out with girls to see if he could just stop liking dudes and...really, it was just one giant mess. I felt like such a bitch afterwards even though he totally started it."

"So you ended up being the fake love interest in a coming out story." Cindy laughed under her breath, "That's not really embarrassing, though. I mean, you _did_ think the guy was cheating on you. Come on, give us more!"

"Well...I also told my mom before I found out that he was the one and that I was so sure we'd be together forever." Lana's mouth parted open slightly, "And I may or may not have realized days afterwards that I forgot to change my relationship status after he came out to his parents and friends. That got me a lot of confused phone calls..."

"...I am so sorry." Gwen looked away in shame.

"Screw you, Gwen! I wasn't the one who didn't realize two of her best friends were in love with her!" Gwen stuttered while Peter turned red next to her, "I mean seriously, how did you miss that? Osborn was practically making air traffic signals!'

"H-Hey, we're talking about _your_ embarrassing secrets! We'll get to me later!" She grabbed Peter's hand and squeezed it to try and calm herself. Webster was 'sleeping' right now; checking in on their baby after the hospital fight earlier.

"Guess it's my turn, right?" Lana started, "For me...mmh, it's kinda hard. I'm generally pretty awesome." Peter snorted and Lana glared at him halfheartedly, "Oh right, there was a time I told someone I loved them and I got the 'but you're like a sister' to me response. Would that work?"

"I'm pretty sure we all know who you're talking about." Cindy rolled her eyes. Gwen squeezed Peter's hand a bit tighter. She _wasn't_ jealous, she was just...reasonably worried that a 17 year old girl who got the good end of puberty - seriously, that chest was _ridiculous_ \- was still holding a torch for her boyfriend. Very reasonable. Yes, "Come on, you don't have anything? Like Gwen said there's no point in being shy here."

"Thing is I don't really have any _secrets_. Thanks to William I can't keep anything hidden if I wanted to." She scoffed, "Sure, I have some things he won't show, but those aren't really 'embarrassing'. More like he won't tell people how much of a shitty dad he was or that he didn't say shit when me and the rest of the 'Defenders' were being hunted down by the cops."

"So you really don't have anything?" Gwen asked.

"Not unless you count my stash of-" She suddenly stopped pressed her lips into a thin line. Everyone just stared at her, "My stash of porn, which every teenage girl has and is totally a sign of healthy growth."

"What _kind_ of porn?" Cindy's eyes narrowed. Must've been that detective sense she was honing.

"Just...you know, the normal kind. The kind every teenage girl has when she wants to sleep better at night." Her eyes flickered to Peter, "And should we really be talking about this? I mean Pete's right there and he _is_ a guy."

"Right, this after you kept asking me for dirty details? Nuh-uh," Mary Jane said, "Come on, spill. There's a reason you're keeping it hidden!"

"It's nothing! It's just...you know, manga and doujins and stuff. Weird Japanese shit Gayle gave me."

"Wait, _Gayle_ gave you? That means..." Mary Jane's mouth curled in a sudden predatory grin and she looked to Peter. Gwen did _not _like that look, "Oh...I think I know what it was."

"How do you- whatever, don't say anything! I'll-I'll think of something else! Just gimme a minute!" She grabbed her hair with both hands and shut her eyes, trying to rack her brain. Cindy yawned exaggeratedly and tapped her imaginary wristwatch, "Alright, alright, alright. Um...there was the time I- no, I ended up killing that guy." Gwen was more than a little disturbed on how quickly Lana brushed that off, "Okay, how about-"

"She's reading gay Spider-Man porn." MJ interrupted casually. Lana gave the redhead a look of utter _hate_ while Peter just sighed in obvious disappointment at his _sister_, "You surprised? Ever since Gwencent let it slip Tiger was 18 people didn't miss how how all of his teammates were older than him. Way too easy." Everyone gave her a look and she just shrugged, "Hey, my sister makes fanfics. I pick up some stuff."

"...I'm not angry, Lana. I'm just disappointed." He said flatly. Lana flinched like she'd been hit, "...Can you at least tell me it wasn't Castle?"

"...I'm sorry." Lana looked down in utter shame. Gwen just felt ticked off. What was with people thinking there was something between Peter and that asshole? He was old enough to be his dad! His daughter was just a few years younger than Peter, for fuck's sake! "If it helps, I'm mostly reading them cause they're the best written. The Moon Knight stuff is just trash."

"Could we please stop talking about gay porn involving my boyfriend? Thanks." Gwen sighed.

"I dunno about you guys, but I'm having fun." Cindy smiled smarmily.

"Screw you, Cin! You sleeping with Thor was much better than this!" Lana shouted, her entire face red from both embarassment and anger, "Rrgh, whatever! Your turn, Spider-Gwen! Just tell us so we can complete the circlejerk!"

"Nice choice of words there." Gwen let go of Peter's hand and leaned forward, making a show of deep thought. Both Lana and Mary Jane tapped their feet impatiently, "Well, there was this one kid who was maybe 15. He gave me a rose and asked to me to marry him-"

"Fuck off with that shit. That was embarrassing for him, not you." Lana scoffed, "Come on, you have to be _at least_ as embarrassed as me and Jane."

"Yeah, I gotta agree with exploder gal," Mary Jane added, "We aired out our dirty secrets, so you gotta do the same!"

"Alright, fine! But remember: none of it leaves this room!" She looked at each of them in turn and took a deep breath, "Now, most of you know that Webster has a preference for treats of the chocolate variety." Translation: she was a total pig, "So a couple of months ago I was chasing this dude calling himself Looter through a chocolate factory. Total coincidence, he just thought that the guy who owned it had Willy Wonka money."

"Oh, _Willy Wonka's_ a dimensional constant but Harry Potter isn't? Wow." Cindy snorted.

"_Any_way, we had a chase, as villains and heroes are wont to do, and during the middle of it I managed to knock Looter out and he managed to kick me into a vat of chocolate. Easy peasy, right? I just web myself up and pretend that didn't happen."

"...I'm getting a bad feeling about this story," Peter muttered next to her.

"Well, it turns out that said vat contained some new flavor that Webster really liked...and by really liked, I mean she fucking jumped out of me and started licking that stuff up like she was dying. So there I was, fucking _naked_ with only a hairband, swimming in a vat of chocolate and screaming for Webster to come back for _5 minutes_ \- and since the whole factory was evacuated and Looter was knocked out it was just me and her. I got chocolate in parts of me I didn't even know I had..."

"...Please tell me the owner got rid of that batch." Lana looked very much disgusted.

"You kidding me? Pretty sure Gwencent has fans who'd eat that up. Literally. Owner could make a killing selling chocolate 'Spider-Woman took a bath in'."

"Ugh, MJ, gross!" Gwen screamed.

"What? I'm just telling it like it is. You know how popular you are." MJ waved her right hand dismissively, "Seriously, I've seen people post vids of them kissing your posters. Not sure why they posted that, but it's up there."

"I'm more curious on why you were naked. Do you just not wear underwear anymore?" Cindy asked.

"I did, but Webster changes into- you know what, not the point! Point is I got an unwanted facial and I cut Webster off from chocolate for two weeks afterwards till she could control herself. Thank God Looter was still knocked out when I went to pick him up. Pretty sure I was dripping chocolate all the way back to the apartment..." She look a _long _shower after that and Webster _still _whined she was 'wasting' it.

...In hindsight, that should've made it obvious that something was up with her - Webster wouldn't have left her so open in public like that normally. Granted, how was _she_ supposed to know her symbiote got pregnant?

"Well, I think we just found your weakness. We shall ensure it never falls into the wrong hands." Mary Jane stretched her arms above her head and grabbed another can of beer, "Alright, now it's just Tiger. Come on then, regale us with your embarrassing tales."

"Don't suppose I could just tell you about the time I got out of a Hand prison?" Gwen rolled her eyes. Why did he _always _bring that up? Did he think it'd actually help knowing he was in some fucked up S&M dungeon? "Right...um, I'm not good at this kind of thing. It just has to be embarrassing, right? Hmm...well, there was a time I had to kiss Wade Wilson so we wouldn't die."

Gwen spat out of her beer, which got a roar of laughter from MJ, while Lana suddenly looked _very_ interested. Cindy raised a brow and crossed her arms as Gwen frantically wiped her mouth, "Hmm, I'll allow it. Continue."

"It was...half a year ago, I think? I was working with Wilson's group - the 'Mercs for Money' - cause we had a mutual goal. This businessman had ties to a human trafficking ring and was being bankrolled by the Hand. Wilson was hired to free the people he was selling and I thought it was a good enough goal. Offered my help free of charge and the only thing I asked was that he give me some time to talk with that worthless sack of garbage for information. He agreed."

"And...And how does this lead to you making out with this guy?" Gwen asked slowly.

"We didn't _make out_. Me and Wilson snuck into the back through the storage room while the rest of his team did clean up and one of the guards almost walked in on us. We could've fought our way out, but that would've made it harder to get to the guy. I was about to grab him and go invisible when the guy just pins me to the wall and...well, you know."

"Ah, trying to look like an innocent couple trying to get handsy in the back rooms." Cindy nodded, "Did it work?"

"Yeah, actually. Wilson's a pretty good actor when he puts his mind to it. He goes on and on about how we really didn't know and that he got a lot of drinking done and there were some tears in there too. Helps that he looks like a peeled avocado, so people usually feel bad for him. Guard told us to go back, Wilson knocked him out when his back was turned and we continued what we were doing."

"The makeout?" Mary Jane grinned wolfishly.

"No, the _sneaking in_." Peter gave her a flat look, "We freed the people he was gonna sell, found the guy, I got what I needed and Wilson put a bullet in his head. He gave me his business card after that, said that if I wanted it I could join his group. Wasn't exactly tempted." He gave Gwen a sideways glance and smiled. Her chest warmed and it had nothing to do with Webster.

"I think we're missing the important question: was there tongue?" Gwen did _not_ like the way Lana asked that question.

"...Yes, there was." Warm feeling was gone, "In my defense, I made it clear that if Wilson _ever_ did anything like that again I'd shove those katanas of his up his rear end. Healing fast doesn't mean it don't hurt."

"Sure, sure. We're all very certain your mercenary tryst will never be repeated," Cindy said, "Well, that's it. I know more about you guys than I did an hour ago...and I'm kinda wishing I didn't."

"Sorry we don't all get to sleep with Lightning Gods, Cin." Peter snarked.

Gwen was about to add something before her phone beeped. She fished it out of her pocket and grinned when she read the screen, "Oooh, new Jameson podcast." Everyone around her immediately groaned.

"You seriously listen that garbage?" Cindy asked.

"He's funny. Sometimes. Mostly when he's not accusing me of being a mass murderer." She-Hulk suggested they took him to court for libel and slander, but Gwen had held off on it. She was quite happy in the knowledge that he'd been forced to resign in disgrace and that the only people who listened to his podcast were either other close-minded bigots or people looking to see an old man's impotent rage.

That and she didn't want to bother with the court appearances. She had better things to do with her time.

_"Hold on to your hats, folks, because I am about to tell you something you will not believe: I feel sorry for Spider-Man."_ All of them shared a look of disbelief sans Peter who looked just about done with the entire thing, _"Yes, you heard that right folks, I feel pity for him. Now he's still a terrible person, don't get me wrong, but even terrible people have rights."_

"Where's he going with this shit?" Lana asked.

_"For you see, as terrible as he is, Spider-Man is also a **victim**. A victim of that menace known as** Spider-Woman**!"_

"And there it is." Mary Jane rolled her eyes.

_"Now I feel no pity for Peter Parker's actions. He turned himself into a monster and he got what he deserved." _Gwen's grip on the beer can tightened. Maybe this was a bad idea, _"However, that didn't give Spider-Woman the right to play judge, jury and executioner! If Peter Parker was to face his crimes it should've been under fair court and not at the hands of a vigilante!"_

"Can we just turn this off? It's not fun," Cindy said. Gwen nodded and was about to do just that when Jameson continued on.

_"But here's something a few of you are unaware of: Spider-Woman is a PERVERT!" _Gwen spat out her beer for the second time that night and the phone fell to the floor. Peter rubbed her back as she coughed while Cindy handed her the tissues, _"Now I don't know how some of you are unaware of it, but just look at the facts, people! She runs around town in that frankly bizarre outfit of hers and is encouraging easily influenced children and teenagers into following her example! Tell me, do you like the idea of your children running around in spandex? Cause I most certainly do not!"_

"It _is_ a pretty tight outfit," Mary Jane hummed. Gwen just glared at her.

_"Not to mention that depraved relationship she has with her fellow vigilante! How old was Peter Parker when he was murdered? 15? 16? Whatever his age may be it certainly hasn't stopped Spider-Woman from swinging on in and robbing that cradle!"_ Peter looked distinctly uncomfortable and muttered something under his breath,_ "As terrible as Spider-Man is, even he doesn't deserve to be taken advantage of by this perverse older woman, who almost certainly lied about her age and is very likely old enough to be his mother!"_

"I am not!" Gwen shouted through the tissues.

_"Worried parents, I urge you: keep an eye on your children, because we can't be sure that this deviant jezebel won't swing into town looking for new victims once she gets tired of her current-"_

Peter cut it off. An awkward silence settled over the group only to be broken by the sudden snicker that came from Lana, "Pfft...you know I could help you get a new costume if you want, grandma-" Gwen threw a pillow at her. Lana ducked the thrown projectile and stuck her tongue out, "Hey, it was just a suggestion, old lady! You should see how much of a good reception Jane's getting."

"Wait, really?" Mary Jane asked, both surprised and eager.

"Yep. Check out tweeter and blendr; people won't shut the fuck up about how awesome your costume is. Guess hoods are granny wear bow." Yes, Gwen did just give a teenage girl the middle finger. In her defense said teenager immediately gave her double middle fingers back, "Seriously though, that Jameson prick needs a boot up his ass. Fucking hate old bastards who think they know better just cause they've got saggier ballsacks than everyone else."

"Could we please tone down the cursing a bit?" Cindy huffed. Lana waved a hand at her casually, but it did the job. The awkward atmosphere was gone and it didn't take long for them to drift to another topic. Gwen smiled and leaned against Peter as Cindy started talking about her first day being assigned to the aptly dubbed Freak Beat. She really hoped they could do this for a while longer.

* * *

Matt awoke to a world on fire.

He sat up on the bed with a gasp and bit his tongue to keep from screaming. The cuts on his neck and chest burned and his right arm was pressed against his chest via a tight sling. He tried to move it experimentally and hissed. No, trying to heal that now wouldn't work. He'd need at least a few days rest to even try it. Ms. Stacy had made his life far more difficult than she likely even knew.

Oh well, it was within her rights. He deserved far worse.

He swung his bare feet over the edge of the bed and tried to stand. He managed to stay upright for only couple of seconds before the accumulated injuries forced him back down, "Haha..." His mouth parted into an open sneer. Pain. How long had it been since he'd felt it again? The first time he remembered was when he'd woken up in that Chaste compound all those months ago. His hands had been bound by chains and Stick had worked his magic.

He'd seen Stick's methods before, but to be on the other end of it was certainly an experience. He'd been cooperative, at least as best he could, but his memory was faded when he first awoke. Perhaps if they'd simply waited he would've recovered, but Stick didn't have time for that. The cuts and bruises, the taste of blood on his tongue. Stick knew how to make him hurt, and with pain came clarity. It was effective to be sure.

Stick and Karen, the stick (pun intended) and the carrot. Stick was there to probe his mind even if it killed him while Karen was there to nudge him to cooperation and ensure that he would never die no matter what the old man did.

Matt panted and pressed his back against the wall to the right of the bed. Bullseye clearly hadn't lost his penchant for brutality. He wondered briefly how Peter would've reacted if he knew. Despite his own admitted lack of inhibitions, Matt couldn't help but not want him to know. To know that the man who'd given up everything for him out of love, deranged and selfish as it may have been, had been turned into the monster Peter prevented him from being.

He truly was getting soft. Hopefully no one knew; he had a reputation to uphold.

The door at the other side of the room. His senses were still foggy, likely due to just coming up from the effects of drugs, but he recognized those soft footsteps and heartbeat anywhere, "Sister Maggie." He looked up and gave the nun a shark like smile. She had a tray in her hands with two cups filled with green tea. His favorite, "Come to check on your wayward lamb?"

"You shouldn't be awake." She sighed and set the tray by the bedside before pulling out a syringe from the nearby medical kit, "The painkillers must have worn off. Here, take these and-"

He grabbed her hand with his single free one and pried the syringe from her grasp, "You know how I feel about narcotics." Painkillers, tranquilizers- anything that muddled his senses he'd never take. He wouldn't even take novacaine for that dentist appointment he had a couple of months ago.

"The pain-"

"I'll handle it."

He tossed the syringe against the far wall hard enough to shatter it. Maggie sighed and sat on a nearby chair, "Always a stubborn one, you were." She picked up both cups and handed one to him. Matt took it and sniffed it warily, "Honestly? I wouldn't drug your drink. Don't you trust me?"

"Is that a trick question?" He took a small sip of the drink and hummed. It tasted heavenly, pun not intended.

"Why would it be?"

"Given our circumstances I would've thought the answer to that would be obvious." She and Helen Stacy both had survived the Beast's final death. He had no idea why, but he had a feeling that Karen had something to do with it either as another form of leverage or, far less likely, out of the goodness of her heart. The latter would've been far more probable if not for Ruth's presence.

Maggie sighed once more and set down her cup, "You do know I still care for you, right?"

"Oh? Last I checked I wasn't a blind little boy anymore." At first he'd resented her for blinding him, even if it had been an accident. She saved him from taking the brunt of the chemicals and yet had scarred him irreversibly all the same. Of course that had changed to hatred and resentment for his father later on. Maggie might have accidentally blinded him, but Jack had intentionally chosen to die out of pride.

"Matthew..."

"We can't go back to what we once were, Maggie. You can't be my mother, and I can't be your little boy." The only reason he trusted her to help him was because she was bound to Karen the same way he was, "You and Helen Stacy could bond over that, I think. Both mothers who lost the chance to see their children grow up. Except I imagine the former Mrs. Stacy is far more proud of what her child grew into than you are."

"It's not too late. God forgives-"

"God is merciful? God gives second chances?" He laughed bitterly, "No, not to me. My soul is damned, and you know what? _I wouldn't have it any other way_." Maggie flinched like he struck her. In some ways he did, "I'm many things, but I'm not a coward. When the time comes for me I'll hold my head up high and greet the inferno with a smile. We all deserve to die with some amount of grace, hm?" He finished off his tea and stood, "Thank you for your hospitality."

"Do you plan to leave?"

"Not in my current state, no." He was naked save his underwear and a pair of loose pants. Even in Hell's Kitchen he'd draw attention. He grabbed his cane and used it to help keep balance, "I'll be out of your hair tomorrow afternoon at the latest."

"I understand. Please take care, my boy."

"I can't make promises I won't keep, Margaret."

He opened the door to the main room and and leaned against the doorframe to balance himself. A fair distance away, the Black Sky raised her head slightly from her kneeling position. Not looking at him exactly, but enough to act if needed. Whether that act would be to help him or up slit his throat he still had no idea.

Matt limped (Bullseye was _very_ thorough) past her and she followed. He got halfway through the length of the room before the pain became too much again and he was forced to sit on one of the pews. She just stood and watched him, "Why did you help us?" She didn't respond and her heartbeat didn't waver in any way. It was to be expected. The Black Sky were almost inhuman after their transformations. They were more walking weapons than people.

Which made this one's decision to betray them...odd.

"Are you under orders? Can't be from Murakami; spying and subterfuge is beneath him." No movement at all, "Perhaps it came from Gao or Bakuto? Sowande wouldn't have swayed you. He relies too much on mercenaries and vices for that."

She finally did respond to that...by tilting her head ever so slightly. If he were anyone else he would've shouted in frustration, but right then he just laughed softly, "Or perhaps you think Peter can free you as he did me?" He grabbed the edge of the pew and pulled himself up, "He was the spearhead to ending the Beast's reign. Perhaps you believe he can perform another miracle and give you back what you lost?"

They were close now, Matt towering over her with a smile. She looked up at him without a word. Even if he had proper sight her expression would've been hidden by that mask of hers. Without her costume she would've looked almost harmless, a little woman with the waifish figure of a dancer. But just like Ms. Stacy, her appearance belied the blood on her hands.

She stepped back and he struck with his cane. She didn't even bother unsheathing her sword and simply blocked the pathetic blow with the sheath. She let out a soft sigh and pushed him back. It wasn't strong by any means, but in his weakened state it was enough to make him fall back to the pew. She stared at him for a few more seconds before turning on her heel and walking out.

Matt didn't worry. She'd be around when they needed her.

"You make such odd friends, Peter." There was a sudden vibration from his pocket. An audio message from Karen; she was coming to visit. Sighing, he tapped one of the other apps and listened to that delusional old man Jameson's rambling. Even when he was possessed by the Beast he found the man insufferable - self-righteousness tended to do that to demons - and even after being freed he found the man an annoying blowhard in love with the sound of his own voice.

Still, he was useful for keeping track of news concerning the Spiders, biased as it may have been.

_"You won't believe this folks, but these menaces have reached an all time low: burning down a hospital! Yes you heard that right! These criminals have finally shown their true colors and decided burning down the helpless who can't even defend themselves is their next sick kick! I have here with me a family who almost fell victim to these menaces! Speak!"_

Matt furrowed his brows. A burning hospital? Odd, most criminals were motivated by profit. Burning the sick didn't follow that.

_"Yes, Mr Jameson." _A woman's voice, _"Well, actually we should probably clarify. I got separated from my son in the confusion and he did nearly get hurt, but it wasn't because of Spider-Woman or the other heroes. In fact, she was the one who saved-"_

_"Ah, ah, ah! Ma'am, I understand this is a difficult time for you, but I do need you to remember clearly, because obviously you're confused. Spider-Woman was attacking your boy and-"_

_"You're wrong!" _

_"Oh, really?" _Jameson's voice oozed condescension, _"And who are you supposed to be?"_

_"M-My name's Jason, and I'm 7." _Did Jameson not realize he'd been interrupted by a child or did he just not care? _"There was a big bad guy there and he was going to grab me! Spider-Woman knocked him away and saved me! That's what happened!"_

_"Ma'am, you need to learn how to control your child because clearly he's also confused and misremembering things. I'm sure what really happened is that these two were working together and they had a disagreement over something completely unrelated. That it left you unharmed is just complete coincidence!"_

_"...Spider-Woman was right. You are a loser."_

_"What?! Listen here, young man-"_

_"Fuck you, grampa!"_

He chuckled lowly and picked himself back up, turning the audio off as he did. It appeared Peter and Ms. Stacy were just fine. Turning back to where he came, he went once more to the back room. Maggie was gone, likely either on a walk or to buy more medicine he wouldn't take. He limped to the nearby dresser and picked up the bottle of painkillers. He was almost tempted to take at least a couple.

The bottle flew and impacted with a nearby mirror hard enough to shatter it. He'd rack up quite a bill at the rate he was going. He trudged towards the broken shards littering the ground and knelt down slowly. He never really understood the purpose of it. Only he and Peter had ever stayed in this room and both of them had been blind when they had done so. A mirror was pointless.

The cane dropped and he picked up a particularly large shard with his now-free hand. He gripped it tightly, mouth twitching as it cut through his palm. It hadn't worked before, but... "Always a chance." He took a deep breath and raised the tip of the glass to the right side of his neck, his hand shaking all the while. Even now a part of him feared the act itself, even if everything else welcomed it.

The glass had barely touched skin before the tattoo on his neck _burned_. Matt screamed and the glass fell against the wooden floor with a dull clatter. He couldn't reach out for it again. Matt fell on his side and curled in on himself, unable to do anything but bite his tongue to keep himself from screaming more. Even now he still couldn't discard his pride.

The clicking of heels brought him out of his pained haze. Matt growled and looked up at Karen's- no, Ruth's blurry form. It didn't matter if she wore Karen's face, she wasn't her, "I think you'll be happy to know that Ms. Hardy has officially agreed to shelve her vendetta for you." It frustrated him to no end that he couldn't discern whether she was mocking him or not. It was well within her right for her to want him to suffer, but if she did then she was never open about it.

"Oh?" he asked back mockingly.

"Yes. It was surprisingly simple. Now we only have to worry about Mr. Castle." Then no one else useful would come back seeking vengeance. Matt grit his teeth and she hummed, "You're upset about something."

"...Why?"

"Hm?"

"Why won't you just let me die?" His voice came out on slow, desperate rasp. It was pathetic, "I gave you _everything! _Information on the Hand, everything I knew...you have other pawns. You don't need me, so why..."

Karen...Ruth...whoever they really were. They knelt on the ground and put his head on their lap. A comforting gesture, but if comfort was what she intended then she'd failed, "You know why." Her voice was so soft, so reassuring. He wanted to trust it, but he couldn't. Her hand ruffled through his hair like a lover would and her next words felt more damning than anything else.

"Because she loves you."

* * *

Cindy woke up feeling better than she had in weeks, which was odd considering she had a monster of a hangover.

The senior Spider sat up with a yawn and was almost yanked back down by the grip on her left arm. Yawning again, she rubbed her eyes with her free hand and looked back only to smile at the sight that greeted her. The entire group - even Aracely, somehow - all bunched up together as they slept. Lana was the one holding on to her arm in a surprisingly tight grip while Aracely in turn hugged the teenager's back like she was a giant teddy bear.

Peter, Gwen and Mary Jane took up her right. The youngest spider (still kinda hard to believe given how he acted) was using Gwen's stomach as a pillow and she hugged him close by protectively. Mary Jane was the same, lying against Gwen's left shoulder with her legs tangled up against the blonde's. They actually looked peaceful, which was a sad rarity nowadays.

Prying herself from the pile, she grabbed for her (thankfully still charged) phone and took a quick picture. First because it was adorable, and second because it'd be good for embarrassment material later.

She grabbed some aspirin and water and Peter woke up just when it started to kick in, "Hey..." He waved off the offered meds, "I'm good. One good thing about this chi nonsense is that hangovers are easy to fix." Odd, considering chi was also the reason he could even _get_ drunk in the first place. Another reason she didn't wanna deal with mystical BS, "Time is it?"

"Half hour past 6." They really should've have played that game of never have I ever. On the bright (blackmail) side she found out that Gwen did in fact experiment with tentacles on her free time. Apparently she 'understood the appeal, but wasn't really into it'. good news for Peter, "Hey, I'm gonna cook something for the snorlaxes over there. Could you help me out?"

"Sure. Just tell me where you want me."

15 minutes later and they were side by side cooking a big and hearty breakfast. She could already hear the others being roused by the smell of ham and eggs, "Pass me the seasoning." She gave the bottle to Peter and flipped the flapjacks through the air before catching them with a slight spin. No one ever said you couldn't make cooking fun. Peter smiled at her and she bowed, "Nice one."

"Thank you, thank you. I'll be here all week."

"Ha..." He looked down at his own sizzling food and asked softly, "Hey...could I ask you something personal?"

"Shoot."

"Do you ever...you ever think about going back? To your own dimension, I mean." She almost dropped the flapjack, "I got the chance to see 'home' and make the choice, but you...I know the spooks offered and you said no."

"Because there's nothing left for me back there." Her smile was somber, "It's like I said before, Pete. My parents are gone, and I'm pretty sure my boyfriend's engaged with kids now." He always was a long term thinker. He wanted two kids, a boy and a girl, before they were 30. She'd agreed with him on the condition that they were stable enough for it, "But here...yeah, it's a pain in the ass, but my friends are here. You, my evil twin's family...it's a life. Not the best, but it's there."

"Well...I'm glad I'm not the only stranger here."

She smiled and bumped her shoulder against his. Guy was a dork sometimes, "...Hey, totally platonic question, but do you think I'm hot? Or someone you'd take home to mom and dad?"

"Uh...what?"

"Well, I just told you about my ex-boyfriend." She rolled her eyes, "You've heard all about my disastrous love life last night and I'm wondering if it's cause I'm doing something wrong. I mean, it can't _always_ be the guy's fault. 1% of the time it has to be me."

"Never underestimate stupidity, Cin." Oh, she definitely didn't. She still remembered old wolfbeard, as she so 'affectionately' dubbed him. It didn't get much lower than a dude who had special snowflake syndrome as his superpower and thought that he turned into a werewolf at night because...something about his ancestry? She'd almost fallen for it - hey, the world they lived in it honestly wouldn't have been _that_ shocking - if not for the fact that his 'mad rampage' included rolling around on a parking lot in his undies while screaming about how tortured he was.

Sad part? Wasn't even her worst date. That one went to when she tried going out with Korg.

"Yeah, I guess..." She flipped over the last flapjack and shut off the stove, "It's just that...after over a dozen failed dates in a row I'm starting to think something's wrong with me."

"You're aces in my book, Cin."

"Thanks, Pete."

Everyone was awake by the time they were setting the table. Gwen yawned and the baby snake thing jutted out of shoulder, mimicking her. Gwen rubbed its head and it crooned. She had to admit, that was cute, "Morning, sleepyheads," Cindy greeted.

Everyone greeted her back with varying degrees of enthusiasm and they sat around her oddly spacious table, "So, what were you two talking about?" Gwen asked tiredly. Mary Jane and Lana still looked half asleep while Aracely kept hugging Lana without even paying attention to the food.

"Oh, I asked Peter if he thought I looked hot."

Gwen didn't say anything for a few seconds before suddenly looking her up and down, "I'd say so. I mean, you're pushing 30 and still look like you should be getting ID'd. Lotta guys are into that." Cindy refrained from mentioning she definitely still was getting ID'd whenever she bought beer, "You can be pretty strict, though. Kinda turns people off."

"I'm _not_ strict. Everyone around me is just dumb."

"I agree with Gwencent." Mary Jane said sleepily, "Definite 9/10 at the least. I'd take you out if you want."

"...How many times do I have to tell people I'm straight before it finally sticks?"

"Wait, you're straight?" Lana asked, "Cause I coulda sworn I saw some grindr posts about you being a gay icon. Might wanna fix that."

Cindy covered her face with both hands and groaned. She wasn't really active in the social media scene like Gwen, She-Hulk and the rest were. She had accounts, but the last time she'd made posts were months ago. She just didn't see the point, though maybe that was the old woman in her talking. She also didn't see the point of carrying those Upads everywhere when a pen and some paper would work.

Across from her, Gwen's phone suddenly beeped and she tapped it without even looking at the screen. J. Jonah Jameson's voice suddenly filled the air.

_"The internet's rife with discussions after a picture of Spider-Man and Spinerette working together surfaced, and apparently there are hordes of young people **cheering** them on!" _Gwen dropped her spoon in shock, _"They're called 'shippers'. No, that has nothing with boats, it's short for 'relationship'. As in, they really want Spider-Man and Spinerette to be together...romantically...or they really don't."_

"Ha!" Mary Jane laughed.

_"And on the other side you have people who think he 'belongs' to that menace Spider-Woman. And these 'sides' have quite intense arguments over it. 'Shipping wars', I believe is the term. You know in my day, we didn't have time for 'shipping' or 'shipping wars'. You know why? CAUSE WE HAD JOBS!"_

"I actually agree with the guy." Cindy groaned.

_"So here's J. Jonah Jameson's public service announcement for our youth: you're into shipping? JOIN THE NAVY!"_

Silence again. Gwen cut the podcast off and clicked a link that popped up. The picture in question was from the fight last night when she and Peter had been back to back before they agreed to switch baddies. The uploader's name was GPool, "...It _is_ a pretty good picture. Very shippy." Cindy glared at Mary Jane while Gwen looked between Cindy and Peter warily.

"...Why did you ask Peter if he thought you were hot?" Gwen asked through narrowed eyes.

"Seriously?" Cindy asked back incredulously. Lana snorted into her plate, "Calm your rolls, Gwen. Trust me, Pete's not my type. Unlike certain other Spiders at the table, I don't go after teenagers."

"...Screw you." Gwen actually looked like she was going to laugh, but she held it in at the last second. Least she was smiling about it now.

"I think we've established that I'm not into tacos, but thanks." The younger Spider gave her the middle finger.

"I mean I'm not really surprised. You two are a pretty popular couple." Mary Jane said lightly, "The way Cindy talks about you in interviews it's clear you're friends and a lot of people really want Gwen to be a free agent, so pairing you two off is the easiest bet." Everyone just looked at her and she shrugged, "Hey, Gayle ships you two. It's cause she wants Gwencent, but still."

"Yeah, she won't shut up about it," Lana added.

"So what's everyone's plans for today?" Cindy asked, mostly so they'd stop talking about her and Peter together. Gross. He was like...her little brother or something. He was actually younger than the Albert of this dimension.

"Back to school," Lana said. Aracely had finally let go of her and started _devouring_ her food, "Aracely's staying here, right?"

"For a few days, at least." They'd need to find another place for her before Daisy came for her next check-in. She definitely didn't want to explain the psychic, flying teenage girl. Maybe she could stash her at Shadowcat's place?

"I gotta go check on Matt, make sure he didn't bleed out," Peter muttered. Gwen and Lana frowned the second they heard the former Kingpin's name, "After that I'll probably meet up with Blade. Rather nip this Vampire thing in the bud before it gets worse." Vampires? How weird. Whatever happened to just dealing with mutates and aliens?

"I'll go back home to check on Helena then me and Webster'll drop in with Wasp to figure out what's up with our baby," Gwen said.

"...Wait, you're pregnant?" Lana gave Gwen a raised brow.

"Technically Webster is, but she says it both of ours. Long story."

"Guess I'll go check on my dad too and see if I got the modeling gig," Mary Jane said last.

"I didn't know you were seeing your dad again," Gwen said idly.

"It's...pretty new." She smiled slightly. It was obviously forced, "We have each other's numbers anyway, so if anything comes up we'll call."

"Right." Cindy smiled. Hopefully this'd make things easier.

* * *

**So the protags are having a fun slumber party while Matt's...not feeling so good, Ms. Page. Again I found his segment to be a real treat since I've never written a reformed villain who was the bad guy in the last story. Again I find myself wondering if the audience sympathizes with him or thinks everything he's going through it just karma for all the shit he pulled.**

**Questions:**

**1\. Quick one before we write Cindy's next segment. Since I added the Cindy and Laura relationship, do you guys think I should swap out Black Cat for Shadowcat as Cindy's partner? Trading cats, essentially. If we do so then I'll also shift Black Cat to MJ, though this means losing the burgeoning odd friendship buddy cop routine Cindy and Felicia would have had.**

**2\. So...now that we've seen damaged Matt and his really unhealthy relationship with Karen, are people still for a Matt/MJ pairing or is he too damaged goods even for her?**

**3\. What do you guys think of Mary Jane's relationship with Carnage? Okay? Boring? Anything that can be improved?**

**Review Answers:**

**Roxasdualwielder - Male, based on the MCU version. Also, Cindy's straight, so fem Thor wouldn't make sense with her brag.**

**Brave2000 - Bullseye's like the secret spice. You don't use him too much or he ruins the dish.**

**Noisy-Cricket - Gabriel and Eugene were there because they were with Aracely and Cindy let them rest before telling them to leave. As for Aracely, it's clear her powers are evolving - in Secret Warriors she can use fireballs. Her using mind control is a failsafe. Also makes sense - in canon she _is_ the reincarnation of an Aztec war god. She's extremely powerful, she just can't control it.**

**Guest - Maybe, but I'm not much an X-Men fan and the sentinels being government sponsored killbots bugs me.**

**NeverendingZero - People really want Laura to be the host. That and it has to be someone Gwen feasibly interacts with, so less so Flash and DEFINITELY not Carl King.**

**Titan616 - Votes are up above. Guess we'll see if we stick with it or some other votes tip the favor.**

**Cha0s4ever - I based Tombstone on his mob enforcer comics counterpart, though I did like the PS4 version as well. Nero's also unlikely to get a Devil Trigger. Lady and DMC 5 Nero (till the end) did just fine without one, after all. And I gave you what you want - confessions scene and _3_ Just the Facts segments. Enjoy. **

**And yes, he showered with Gwen (though maybe not Venom). Cindy wanted to save water.**


	14. Spider Troubles

**Gonna watch Endgame with family again tomorrow so I thought I'd update this. Due to the votes I'll focus on Peter and Gwen first followed by Lana then Cindy and finally Mary Jane. **

**Another new thing I'm trying after replaying the PS4 Spidey game and reading the fanfic 'Right around 3 am' is adding twitter posts between the line breaks. It should allow me to show how the citizens react to the events that take place in the story and allow for some more controlled cringe comedy. Tell me if you guys think I should continue with it or remove the entire thing.**

**Side Note - I'm considering writing a Spider-Gwen and MCU Daredevil romance oneshot just for irony points. We'll see :)**

* * *

**ProducerJared: **Spider-Woman and a group of criminals attempted to burn down a hospital and nearly killed an innocent child. Tune in to **JustTheFacts **to hear **JJJAtHome's **exclusive take on this tragedy.

**Reply from InfinityMobius: JJJAtHome **spouting BS again. Was at the hospital. Spider-Woman saved me from the guy actually trying to burn it down.

**Reply from ****StuManGroup: **Yep. Brother's a cop on the scene. They arrested the actual culprits and none of them are from Spider-Woman's group. More fear mongering.

**Reply from ****MorganManfree**: Anyone see the new hero with the group? The one in red with the long hair?

**Reply from ****FreedomWillSetYouTrue: **She's calling herself Scarlet Spider. She just made a tweeter account a couple of hours ago: **ScarletSpider**

**Reply from ****MorganManfree: **...I think I'm in love.

**Reply from ****FreedomWillSetYouTrue: **Dude, pretty sure she cut one guy's legs off.

**Reply from ****MorganManFree: **I don't see the downside.

* * *

Sometimes Peter looked back and thought on how odd his life had become.

Not that he'd ever had a normal life to begin with. Waking up in that alley and finding out his entire life as he knew it wasn't real was...unpleasant. Still, even then he'd stuck to fighting what he knew. Mob bosses with overinflated egos (Hammerhead was still in the slammer despite his promises of revenge) and psychopaths like Frost or Jack. Violent, insane and murderous to be sure, but human all the same. Familiar.

Now he was killing Vampire cheerleaders and he couldn't help but think this was a step too far.

Peter ducked under the lunging brunette and grabbed her leg before slamming her to the ground. The entire group of schoolgirls were turned to the last woman. He almost felt guilty until he overheard them bragging to each other about some of the things they'd done. Blade made it clear that Vampirism wasn't mind control -at least not in most cases, and those exceptions weren't much better considering the person died and a parasite ran around their body like it was a meatsack.

It gave you the hunger, yes, but many other Vampires had chosen death or alternative means to stave off hurting others - blood packs, chewing on rats; he knew at least one Vampire doctor who hadn't killed any of his patients in decades. These ones just reveled in it like junkies on a high and their friends and family into personal slaves, running the school like it was their own personal kingdom.

Now they were facing the consequences.

He stabbed her in the back of the neck with the hellfire knife before shooting her right in the brainpan. Brutal, but quick and mostly painless, "Suki!" A tan girl screamed. Peter dodged her attempts to cut his neck open and sliced open her back. She stumbled onto her hands and knees and Peter followed with another shot, this one going through her eyes. She mumbled something unintelligible and crumpled next to her counterpart.

Behind him, Blade sliced through two more of the coven (Blade's words, not his). Peter dodged to avoid a lunge that came from his side and shot the redhead - one of them called her Heather - through where her heart should have been. She continued to lunge at him and managed to slam him to the ground before a fleeting touch near his neck burned her hand and sent her scrambling back.

Peter's hand raised and he smiled when he felt the weight of Martin's rosary. Even now he was looking out for him. The redhead continued to hiss in pain, her face warped and mangled with gray and leathery skin, until Blade stabbed her through the forehead without any fanfare, "Only the leader left," the Damphir muttered.

He didn't like hanging out with Blade much. He had no problems with the guy personally, on the contrary he really appreciated his professionalism, but something about the part-Vampire bothered Peter. Maybe it was the leather trenchcoat or maybe it was the magical katana. All seemed so over the top. Like he was trying as hard as he could to be one of those tough guys in the old movies Cin loved.

Peter lowered the hood of his leather jacket and put away the hellfire knife, "You go ahead." He took out a cigarette and lit it with a quick flick while Blade stalked towards the crawling blonde on the gym floor. Heather was her name, and apparently she'd been repeating high school for the past 100 years. He had no idea why; who'd want a repeat of this?

Blade stabbed her right in the heart and she screamed like a dying banshee. Peter turned away slightly and sucked harder on the cigarette when her skin turned as gray and rancid as the rest of her group. He hated Vampires. Worse than demons, all of them.

And suddenly, like the clicking of a camera, the people around them unfroze. Many screamed, though it wasn't for the coven (God that word sounded odd). In recent days they'd gone from subtle manipulation and puppetry to full on mind control. It was the main reason Blade had even be able to track them - if they just kept their head down he would've missed it entirely because, honestly, Vampire cheerleaders? Sounded off.

The principal, a portly, middle aged man that reminded him somewhat of Ben, immediately shook his hand, "Th-Thank you...! Both of you!" Blade waved off the thanks while Peter shook the hand awkwardly. Still wasn't used to this whole being thanked thing, but it'd been happening more recently. Killing people who weren't human tended to get a lot less judgement.

"It's fine..." He eyed the rest of the crowd, "You gonna be okay?"

"Y-Yes, now we will be."

Blade left the bodies intact; easier to explain that way. The principal thanked them again and Peter got back to Blade, "So...we done here?" Hopefully someone got rid of them before the stench hit.

"Yeah." Blade nodded, reticent as always, "I owe you."

"Whatever you say."

They opened the door to the street outside and they were immediately surrounded by a mix of curious high school students, teachers and, of course, police. He still didn't like the cops, and they didn't much like him, but so far they gave each other a wide berth. Most of em didn't cry for the kinds of scumbags he targeted and it didn't take them long to realize that there was a severe lack of vigilantes who could tackle Vampires and Demons and whatever else this madhouse pulled out of its hat.

So there was an unspoken agreement: he didn't step on their toes too much and they didn't haul him off to the bighouse like the scum he was. In exchange he dealt with whatever pile of insanity that they couldn't. Worked out so far.

The officer at the front looked past them and grimaced at the gray, rotting husks of the 'schoolgirls' behind them, "Ugh, I fucking hate this shit." Peter sympathized. He felt the same way, "Don't suppose one of you's gonna stay behind for a comment?"

Peter and Blade looked at one another and, right before the stoic Vampire hunter could walk away, Peter suddenly said, "You did say you owed me a favor." His eyes might've narrowed. Peter couldn't be sure; always covered in shades, "Go ahead. I gotta meet with Daimon and Ketch anyway. Consider the favor paid."

He left with a cheeky wave and pushed through the crowd, ignoring their questions and comments; a lot of which had nothing to do with the Vampires they'd just culled. Mostly it was requests for private interviews for such and such newspaper, asking about the rumors that had spread (no, he was pretty sure he wasn't secretly a Skrull) and a few choice comments about his relationship with Gwen.

He made sure to disappear as he turned the corner to make sure he couldn't be followed. Last thing he wanted was a crowd.

Peter made sure he was alone before shucking off his mask and replacing the jacket with a different one. He doubted anyone would recognize him at a glance a year later, but it was better safe than sorry. He pulled up the white cloth hood and put on a pair of (unneeded) glasses. Cindy had insisted on it and claimed that 'it was the perfect disguise' and that it was 'Clark Kent guaranteed'. He had no idea who Kent was, but apparently it had his guarantee.

He called Diamon's phone, "Hey, you ready?"

"Me and Daniel are already together at the rendezvous point."

"Alright, I'll meet you there."

He got on the bike (another loan from Moon Knight) and followed the GPS location. The almost mindless drive made him think back again. It was only a little over a year ago when he claimed (not untruthfully) that he hated partners and teammates. Too much baggage, too many ways it could end with them shooting him in the back, intentionally or otherwise. He just didn't see the point.

And now he couldn't go more than an hour or two before his phone was buzzing in his ear. Maybe another job offer from Wade (who refused to get that No Pants Friday wasn't a tempting offer) or a message from Gwen and Lana because they were bored. It was...odd. Not unpleasant, but still odd. Now if only he could stop Wilson from sending him those annoying selfies of his...

He parked the bike short distance away from the location and changed back to his outfit, stuffing the spare jacket into the bike's compartment. Technically speaking there was no point to it after the incident with Jack, but being back in New York brought out old habits along with the vain hope that the new stubble and hair would stop people from recognizing him.

The rendezvous point ended up being a small diner. Peter walked in mask and all and sat at the corner booth across from Daimon and Ketch, "Couldn't pick some place more private, Daimon?" Many of the other patrons were outright gaping and taking pictures, though a blessed few paid him no mind. Apparently they'd gotten used to insanity.

"We have other business to discuss." Daimon waited for him to finish ordering some pancakes and bacon before continuing, "Are you aware that there's a bounty on your head?"

"Which one?" The Hand still had a standing bounty left over from when he arrived in Japan, though it'd diminished heavily in price once Alexandria was out of the picture. He was sure there were a few other mob families that wanted his head, though. La Cosa Nostra held a grudge for a long time.

"Unknown. The client prefers to remain anonymous." He smirked and waved his cane around, "You don't seem worried."

"You do realize we're about to fight a den of demons, right?"

"Hmm, point." Daimon laughed softly, "Still, I worry even if you don't. The price was...substantial."

"30 million dollars," Ketch said. Peter whistled softly. He was almost flattered someone thought he was worth that much, though he was pretty sure Gwen and Lana wouldn't have agreed,. Yet another reason for him not to get an apartment under his own name, "Karen has been looking into it. She doesn't want you dead, at least not yet."

"How touching." He unbuckled the lower half of his mask and smiled at the waitress as shes set the food down. She actually gave him a friendly smile back, "Is that the reason why we're meeting at a public place?"

"Yes, I've heard the Silver Samurai's coming for you. Are you aware of him?"

"Only rumors. A guy dressed like a chromed up ronin's gonna get attention from anyone." Peter drank the black coffee and sighed in relief, "One of the best assassins in the world, according to the rumors?"

"Yes. Part of the new breed of hired killers." Yeah, it was an odd phenomenon. A few years ago a suit, a balaclava and a sniper rifle was the sign of a good assassin. Now you needed a rainbow colored costume and some piece of gear someone else couldn't just buy off the store. Didn't matter if it was gauntlets shooting electricity or a piece of rope less practical than a garrote.

In this case, Silver Samurai lived up to his name. Shiny silver armor and a sword he'd guzzied up so much that it could 'cut through anything'.

"Daimon wants to lure him out. Thinks that showing up in a public place for a bit is the right draw," Ketch said.

"What about the people here? I don't want them hurt."

"I wouldn't worry. I've placed enough protection around the diner. This place is more secure than Stark Tower." He chucked and leaned back on his seat, "That and it'll give us the chance to catch up. I've missed you, old friend."

"Yeah, you too." Peter smiled. He didn't think he'd end up making friends with the Son of Satan, but this was where he ended up, "I know I asked before, but are you sure you'll be alright. That cane's making me worry." He still remembered when he first met Daimon. Neatly pressed hair and a muscled physique hidden behind a six figure suit. Peter was sure he'd hate him.

"With you and Daniel by my side, I'm certain I'll be fine."

"Us being there didn't stop you from having to give up almost everything," Ketch muttered. Peter could tell he was guilty. Guy has a bit of a complex about being the weaker Rider in comparison to that Blaze guy.

"Well, we're not stopping the apocalypse this time. Lilith's coven-" _again_ with that word, "-should prove easier to dispatch. After we deal with Peter's stalker issue, of course."

Peter was about to comment on his choice of words when he felt a tap on his shoulder. For a second he thought that the assassin had come earlier than he thought, then he turned to look and immediately disregarded that thought. Last he checked he'd never seen any 16 year old world class assassins. He'd seen a monkey, but not any teenagers.

There were three of them. A boy who looked 16, a girl who was a year or two younger and another boy who was probably 9 at the oldest. Kids, really. He wasn't the best with them.

"Something you needed?" he asked somewhat awkwardly.

"We were just wondering if we could a picture with you," the boy said shyly, "We're uh, we're all big fans."

"Uh...fans?" He knew the coppers turned a blind eye, but fans? Especially after he left for a year? He would've thought Gwen's pleas would've faded from memory by now.

"Yeah! You're Spider-Man! You beat that big demon thing in Times Square!" The little boy piped up. He still had no idea what S.H.I.E.L.D did with the body. A part of him expected to find it being experimented on in some lab underneath the city.

"Could we get an autograph too? I wanna show my friends!" The girl added last.

"Um..." He looked to Daimon and Ketch, who were of course no help. The former just leaned back in his seat and smirked at him while the latter focused on his heart attack sandwich and pretended nothing was happening, "Ah...okay, sure." He tried his best to smile. This was wrong. He didn't care if Gwen or Cindy had their fans, but him? If there was one thing he agreed with Jameson on it was that he wasn't someone _anyone_ should look up to. He was a killer and a vigilante, not a Superhero like Gwen and the others.

He wrote down his 'autograph' on the offered piece of paper stiffly and made a limp pose when they crowded around him for a selfie. They all waved goodbye cheerily and as soon as they were far enough Peter looked away with red on his cheeks. That was...embarassing. He could only hope Gwen, Cindy, Lana and Mary didn't see it. He didn't need that right now.

Daimon chuckled, "Are you honestly surprised? Beating a demon does come with its perks."

"Shut it, Dami." He swallowed and tried to will away his (not) blush.

"Could always take Mephisto's deal. People tend to stay away from the flaming skulls."

"Not helping, Ketch."

They stayed and talk (and ate, cause Gwen had been really insistent he start eating normally) for half an hour more before Daimon agreed it was time to leave. The three of them made their way to the agreed on location. People took pictures, along with a really annoying guy running next to them with a selfie stick, but apart from that no one actually bothered to follow.

"Here." Daimon gestured to the entrance leading to a subway. It was covered in police tape, which Daimon immediately cut with the sharp end of his cain without a care, "Fake. Police tape makes it easier to draw people away."

"How are you so sure?"

"Because I saw them set it up earlier."

They made their way down. Peter made sure to keep an eye on Daimon as they descended. He said he could handle himself, but the way he looked now reminded Peter of his own condition after he...lost Bullseye. Hard to believe the man who'd once overpowered him in a grapple now needed a cane to walk.

"Get ready, Peter," Daimon said as they were on the bottom. The entire subway was abandoned, "We're about to have guests."

It wasn't what he expected. His spider-sense rang just before he heard an impact from above. Peter flipped to the side right before a figure clad in silver burst through the roof down towards him, "Silver Samurai, hm?" Why did he always get the freaks? He doubted his brother had to deal with this. Just regular, genocidal megalomaniacs with god complexes.

Daimon tapped his cane against the ground and smirked, "Pin him to the wall."

A black, shadowy _thing_ leaked out of Daimon's body and, before the world's most out of place assassin could do anything, it lunged towards him. The chromed up ronin screamed a curse in Japanese and tried to slash through it. The blade cut through the amorphous blob (looking closer, it actually resembled a facsimile of a panther) almost harmlessly and impaled him against the wall with multiple jutting spikes.

Peter almost felt sorry for the guy when the silver was stained red. Just another thing he had to accept - sometimes the world's best assassins paled in comparison to the insanity of the supernatural.

"What do we do with him?" Daimon asked, still smirking.

"Let's leave him for the cops. Doubt they care about him trying to off me, but this guy's been on the international watch list for about a decade now." He'd killed at least one president, last he checked, "But first..."

Peter walked towards him and Daimon summoned the shadow back. Long John Silver almost fell to the ground in a heap before Peter grabbed him by the neck and slammed him against the wall, "Alright, tough guy. Who hired you?" He glared down at him and spat a bloody wad of saliva on his mask. Peter sighed, "Fine, let's do this the hard way."

Peter unsheathed the Hellfire and stabbed it into his gut.

The bastard screamed and Peter twisted it around quickly before pulling the knife out, "That's the same kind of magic my friend's got. That wound? It's never gonna heal." Peter leaned in close to whisper, "That pain you're feeling now? It'll last for _days_. I know you think you're untouchable because you've killed a few innocent families, but you really wanna take this?"

The guy tried to bite his tongue, but eventually he caved. Everyone did; Hellfire was a bitch, "Roxxon...Roxxon corporation," he muttered, voice thick with accent. Peter's eyes narrowed. Roxxon? Well, he'd worked with Domino's group to expose some of their human experimentation operations during his time in Houston. Made sense, but why now? That was months ago.

Peter made sure the stab would heal before punching him in the face and webbing him to the wall. Cops could handle him, "...They heard his screaming." Ketch unfurled the chain from his wrist before his skull was engulfed in fire. Daimon smirked and summoned more of the shadows while Peter held the knife and a gun, one in each hand.

"Just like old times."

They came down both tunnels in a swarm. Pale, gangly things with sharp nails and even sharper teeth. Lilith's 'children', the spawn of the mother of all demons. He really didn't want the image of her pregnant in his head.

**"I'll handle the left. You two deal with the right."**

Ketch split the chains and shot them forward in a superheated barrage. The demons in front the swarm were perforated clear through with their buddies behind them following suit. Those in the back stepped over the corpses of the fallen to charge at the flaming skull.

"Ready?" Peter asked.

"As I'll ever be." Daimon chuckled.

Peter slashed the first one that lunged at him and shot at two more. Daimon kept his distance and summoned both the panther and what looked like a serpent, which immediately rushed to help him, "That's new." He jumped over the swipe of another and tossed a fire grenade into one of the larger clusters. Ironically enough, Lillith's spawn hated fire. Something about her being tied to the Vampires Blade loved to hunt.

One of them slipped past him to Daimon and Pete cursed. The frail look man just grinned before another creature, this time in a shape he couldn't even recognize, suddenly impaled it through the chest with a wide blade, "Back to hell." He smashed its face in with his cane and and turned to Peter, "Don't worry about me. Focus on your own."

"Point taken."

Peter tossed another grenade at a cluster and picked his shots while Ketch erected a barrier of hellfire over the tunnel entrance. Daimon snapped his fingers and summoned what looked like a bird, "Go fetch." Peter swore he heard the thing cackle before it charged towards two more of lilith's spawn and pierced through them like a bullet.

They didn't die.

"Apologies, Peter, but you'll have to do the killing for me. Part of the loopholes, you see." Daimon smiled.

Peter didn't bother asking and just stabbed the prone demons before they could get back up. They'd have time for explanations later, "Behind you." He pointed past Daimon to the spawn trying to slash at his back. The half-demon disappeared briefly before suddenly reappearing behind said demon and stabbed the cane through its chest.

"Return to the underworld." He kicked it towards Peter. He grabbed it, slammed it against the ground and stabbed till it faded into dust. One good thing about Lilith's children: no bodies left behind. Made clean-up really convenient.

Ketch burned one of the last remaining demons and grunted, **"Blackout's coming." **Peter shared a look with Daimon and he tightened his grip on the knife ever so slightly. He'd heard horror stories about the guy. There was nothing he wouldn't hurt if it meant harming you. Peter wasn't scared; Jack wasn't much different and this time they were ready.

The area was suddenly covered in darkness wit only Ketch's blue fire to serve as light. He heard a chuckling around him, _**"More flesh for the feast, Daniel?" **_The voice was like nails on a chalkboard. Reminded him of Mary's tagalong, _**"You were foolish to come here below. This where I am strongest."**_

"Hiding in the tunnels like a rat," Peter called out, "Big talk coming from the guy who sent his mommy's kids to do the fighting for him." Blackout was a lot of things, but more than anything he was an egotistical child. He couldn't take the idea of his ego being bruised, that's why he went after the innocent and the helpless. He was scared of fighting.

Time to push his buttons.

"I heard about you, you know? How you _begged _and _cried_ whenever you were on the other end of the knife. What's this show all about, huh? Think we're like those kids whose beds you hide under? We ain't scared of the dark, 'Blackout', so just go on and run back to mommy. It's the only thing you're good for."

**_"...I will feast on you _slow_, Spider."_**

Behind him. Peter jumped back over him and slashed is back right before he disappeared into the darkness again, "Daimon, Ketch, you see him?"

"Afraid not."

**"No."**

"Great..." He could see in the dark, but that wasn't much useful here. Blackout disappeared into the Shadows the same way he himself did. Sight wouldn't work. Time to use his ears, "The fire stings, doesn't it?" He yelled, "Why don't you go find a pair of 5 year olds to scare? Oh wait, nevermind. That's a bit too much for you. Wouldn't want you to hurt yourself."

The footsteps and raspy breaths came closer.

"You know what? You're not even worth it. I dunno why Ketch bothered with you for so many years. If he wanted to waste his time there were other _rats_ he could've stomped on."

To the right. Peter turned just as Blackout materialized in the darkness and webbed his face, "Now!" He slashed his chest and webbed his legs before Ketch wrapped the burning chain around his arms. Blackout screamed and fell on his knees, though it was muffled by the web on his face. Good thing he didn't need to breath; that way Peter didn't feel guilty clogging his throat.

"Taunting. An odd tactic. Did you pick that up from Spider-Woman?" Daimon smiled at him before kneeling down in front of the helpless lilin, "Hmm, we'll have to interrogate him to find any information. It would take days, at least. Why don't you leave it up to me and Daniel?"

"You sure?"

Ketch went back to normal and cracked his knuckles, "We're sure."

He said his goodbyes to them and sat down on the bench. He'd just helped capture a thousands years old demonspawn with the maturity of a 10 year old...what the hell was he doing with his life? He opened his phone and looked at the messages. One from Gwen saying she was over at Wasp's, another from Lana griping about how boring school was and a final one from Cindy asking his help with the Maggia crime families.

That last one drew his attention. He couldn't work with the cops openly, but it might've been nice - if that was the right word to use - to go back to human crime for a while. It was what he was best at.

He was about to stand before he a slow, mocking clap. He turned to the source with his gun raised and almost dropped it at the sight of the all too familiar figure, "Hey, kid. You look happy to see me." Bullseye leaned against the pillar and smirked down at him.

"How...?" Was this another dream? Or a delusion of some kind?"

"You seriously asking that? You've been back twice now. I'm actually behind ya." He stopped leaning against the pillar and walked close to him, "Let's just say a special someone plucked me out of the fiery pits and-"

Peter hugged him. It was odd. He was hardly the most affectionate person, especially not towards Bullseye, but seeing him again after the way they parted...he couldn't stop himself, "I'm sorry. I'm not gonna let you die again. I promise."

"Heh...I'm happy to see you too, kid."

He didn't hear the blare of his spider-sense till the knife was inches through his gut and the blood started pouring out, "Bullseye...?" He looked up at him in shock. Bullseye just smiled and drive the knife in deeper.

* * *

**SpiderCat4Eva: -embedded image-** I just met Spider-Man at a diner! Me and my brothers took a picture!

**Reply from** **No1StrikerFan - **So Spider-Man just happens to walk into a diner and you take a picture with him? Bullshit.

**Reply from No1BombshellFan** \- It's legit, buncha people are posting it. Guess he really likes Mick's Diner? **#superheroesareweird**

**Reply from thisisaname **\- How's he walking around after he killed a bunch of schoolgirls? It's disgusting.

**Reply from** **No1BombshellFan **\- Dude, those schoolgirls were Vampires who mind controlled their entire school. Look it up.

**Reply from** **thisisaname **\- Vampire schoolgirls? You believe that?

**Reply from No1BombshellFan - **Right, it's not like we dealt with weirder shit like an alien invasion- oh right** #aliensarereal #andsoarevampires**

**Reply from ITSME: **Who's the goth guy and the biker?

**Reply from YOOOOO: **Dunno, but goth guy's a real cutie! Think Spidey'd set me up?

* * *

"She's here, she's here!"

Gwen was barely out of the elevator before Hope practically tackled her back in, "Oof, Hope! It's good to see you too!" She hugged the shorter van Dyne with a laugh while behind her Kate held Helena protectively, "Be careful, though. We brought Helena with us."

Hope squealed and immediately started grabbing and cooing at the (thankfully freshly rested) infant. It was Gwen's idea to bring her along. Dad and Jess were out on a case/hospital visit and she didn't want the archer to get stir crazy alone in the house, "Oooh, she's so cute!" Hope started poking her cheeks. Helena held on to the pointer finger of her other hand, "And tiny!"

"That's what babies are like, kiddo." Kate stopped kneeling and started rocking Helena again. Kate had been surprisingly good with kids, which she'd attributed to 'having to take care of an adult sized one' for a couple of years. That and being named the official Godmother (Godfather still pending, though she had her own preference) probably sparked the protective instincts. Jess was really good too despite her claims to the contrary.

"Could I hold her? Please?" Hope looked up with a full on pout and puppy dog eyes.

"Later. We gotta go visit your mom first."

"About your baby, right? I overheard mommy talking about it."

"Yeah. Who would've thunk it, our innocent little Gwen getting a baby. When's the wedding?" Kate grinned.

Gwen rolled her eyes and almost gave her the middle finger before remembering that Hope was nearby, "Not that kind of baby and you know it." Webster had been fussing all morning about their new Webster Junior (name still pending). She'd taken to motherhood really quick, "Anyway, I'm hoping Wasp knows something about this. She's kinda the expert."

"I'm sure mommy can help you!" Hope piped up.

She met up with Wasp and, after exchanging pleasantries and leaving Kate, Helena and Hope in the other room, she stripped out of (read: told Webster to get rid of) her clothes so sh could change into the patient gown, "Stylish. Really love the minimalist look." She stepped into the containment module and stood stock still as Wasp did a deep tissue scan. The wonders of modern technology.

It took just five minutes and soon enough she was sitting on a gurney while Wasp took some blood samples, "I must admit when you called me screaming that you were pregnant this is hardly what I expected."

"I was not _screaming_..."

"Oh, I recorded it." Gwen's eyes widened as the older woman smirked and tapped her phone, _"Janet! Jan, Jan, Jan! Holy shit, I'm fucking pregnant! Webster is pregnant! We're pregnant! I need help oh god help me help help me help-"_

"Okay, okay! So I might have panicked a bit!" Just a tad. It wasn't every day your radioactive symbiote partner told you that you were pregnant! "And hey, blame Webster! She was the one who got knocked up!"

Webster jutted out of her shoulder and 'glared' at her, **"I've said before that's not how it works."**

"And yet you look guilty every time. Are you hiding something from me, little lady!"

**"I am not!"**

"Please stop arguing. It's bad for the baby." Wasp smirked. This time they both glared at her, 'Sorry, bad joke. Going back on topic, your symbiote is correct." She pulled down a screen and gestured to the scan results, "This baby is the result of what can best be equated to mitosis. Webster has split apart slowly but surely and this new offspring is the end result. There was no sexual reproduction."

"Wait, so do we know how it happened?"

"I can't be sure. Even now the inner workings of these symbiotes are an enigma, especially since there's only been two successful bonds." Three, but she didn't want to bring up Kasady at all, "It's quite possible that this is simply a normal part of a symbiote's development and lifespan. Do you recall anything else that might've caused this?" she asked Webster.

**"Nothing. We've been doing the exact same patrol and hero work for months."**

"That strengthens the lifespan hypothesis." Was nodded.

"Wait, wait. So does that mean this could happen again?" She was already freaking out about the first one! She didn't know if she could deal with a second!

"We can't be certain. As much as I hate the term, I think we'll have to use the wait and see approach." She sighed like the word actually pained her, "The good news is that we have confirmation that the baby itself is healthy...as much as it can be considering it's almost impossible to measure due to lacking things like a heartbeat. So long as you and Webster remain alive, it should be born with no complications."

"Yeah, about that...do we have any more details? Like am I gonna have to push a little blob out of my you know what or even a timeframe?"

"Timeframe is difficult to gauge since this is the first one of its kind. On the bright side observing this one should help any future birth scheduling." Why was she acting like a second one was guaranteed?! "As for the birthing process itself, you don't have to worry. Given the lack of stomach bloating, and indeed the lack of any change in your internal stomach lining, I think we can safely guarantee that any births will be akin to the mitosis. A quick split, if you will. 2 hours max, but likely far less than that."

"Great..." She really should've taken Peter with her. He was basically the dad...kinda...okay not really, but the thought was nice.

**"I'm excited."** Webster said needlessly.

"Yeah, well, you're using your new kid as an excuse to pig out so of course you are." She rubbed Webster's head and she purred like a cat.

"If you start to feel off at all, then don't hesitate to visit me. I'll prep facilities to ensure it's comfortable." Jan smiled and squeezed her left shoulder reassuringly, "But for now we should move on to anothr topic. I'd like to do another physical examination on you. It's been 6 months since our last one and I'd like to chart the progress of your symbiosis."

She grabbed the earphone, "Sure." She knew better than to argue. Besides, she was curious herself.

Gwen stepped into the platform and took a deep breath as she was shrunk down to a couple of inches in height, "Feel like Alice in Wonderland." She took off the gown and let Webster form a sports bra, shorts, socks and sneakers as the 'city' formed around her. It was one of the new tech that Jan and Stark were working on. Miniature hardlight constructs. Good for anything from wanting a model city or a training ground for a shrunken superhero.

She tapped the earphone and looked around. Looked just like Queens, "Hey, I'm here. What do you wanna test first?" She started stretching in front of the glass building facsimile as her reflection stared back at her. She-Hulk's workout sessions from before had definitely paid off. While she wasn't Ronda Rousey, her lean muscles were far more defined and she looked like someone who spent a healthy amount of time at the gym.

"Let's try your jumping capability. Try jumping straight up from a standing position as hard as you can."

"Got it." She took a deep breath, lowered herself into a crouch and jumped. She was almost tempted to reach out and shoot a line of webbing. Instead she landed on the roof of one of the 'buildings', "How'd I do?"

"50 foot from a standing position; 5 feet more than the last test. I'm sure that number can improve dependent on adrenaline levels as well." She heard a few taps and a car appeared from where she just was, " Next try running side by side with the car. No webs."

"Your wish is my command."

The next hour was spent following Wasp's every instruction: running alongside cars, how many people she could take on at once, seeing how far she could spread her trackers, measuring how much she could lift (that one she had to grow back for) etc etc. All the results were the same; all better than the last. She'd outpaced the car, could track someone halfway across the city and lift a crashing jumbo jet.

Soon enough she was back to normal size and sitting at the gurney again, "Your symbiosis is deepening at an astonishing rate. Sooner or later you and Webster will be incapable of separating."

"Uh...but she can still go and let me have my _private time_, right?"

"Yes, of course." She gave a long-suffering sigh, "I mean that, similar to Ms. Watson, separation in the way this dimension's Ms. Moon did so prior would be much more difficult. On the off chance that somehow does succeed both you and Webster would die due to the trauma of separation."

"Real comforting there, Jan."

**"They did say till death do us part."**

"Okay, we need to stop letting you watch late night Webflicks." The symbiote stuck her tongue out (rude!) and slithered back into her shoulder, "Alright, so do you know how much longer before this full symbiosis thing?"

"Hmm, I'd say a year or two. Ms. Watson's condition was unique since it attached directly to her bloodstream and the symbiote didn't care to make the symbiosis go at a steady rate. Speaking of, how is she?"

"She's...okay." Gwen looked down and swung her legs awkwardly, "Actually...I'm not sure. Physically she's fine, but...she's been sneaking out at night and I think that she's...killing people." Such an odd thing to say. Everyone she knew killed people. She'd personally seen Kate shoot arrows through H.Y.D.R.A goon eyeballs and she was holding her baby sister right now, "Is the symbiote affecting her mind?"

"It's quite possible, though I doubt full on possession is likely." She changed the screen to Mary Jane's results, "Her last tests show that the symbiosis has stabilized heavily compared to before. The symbiote can still speak into her mind and nudge her, but it's no more potent than the nudge you get when, say, looking at a piece of pizza you shouldn't eat or the temptation to ignore homework due the next day."

"So what are you saying? That MJ...wants to kill people?" Even the thought of it made her sick.

"I'm saying that if you wish to get to the bottom of this, then you need to talk to Ms. Watson yourself. Medical scans can only tell us so much and you know her better than anyone."

"I guess..." She'd been putting it off long enough.

"Speaking of our 'side projects', have you given any thought to Sam's suggestion?"

Oh yes, Captain America's brilliant pitch: expose her identity on her own terms. She'd tried to sell it so hard and mentioned all the benefits and how much trust it would engender, but all Gwen could think about was someone rolling up to her house trying to take revenge.

Not that others hadn't already tried and seen how badly it could go. You wouldn't think it looking at her, but Hope had gotten kidnapped a scant few months ago. She couldn't even remember why those bastards did it. Maybe they wanted Dyne particles, maybe they wanted to blackmail her into something- hell, maybe they just wanted to prove that they could.

Didn't matter much in the end when she and She-Hulk leveled their main hiding spot after getting Hope out. No one tried after that. Most superheroes didn't take it personally when you tried to off em - all part of the job, grim as that was - but once you start hitting their families the hammer of Thor (not literally, though they did consider asking for his help) would come down from on high to smite you. One impersonal hero was a whole lot less trouble than six pissed off ones.

"As foolish as it sounds at first glance, I can see her point. Among all the Avengers only you and Cindy are still keeping your identities secret and it's beginning to cast an air of suspicion. We have countermeasures to ensure our loved ones remain safe, and I can't argue that controlling your unmasking will allow us to negate most of the possible negative repurcussions."

Yeah, she still remembered Kate's confession of how her father and sister called her non-stop to yell at her after the fight with Evil Cindy got her outed. Apparently she'd been forced to spend weeks under lock and key while various people investigated her dad's company. And then there was Peter. God, she still fucking hated Jameson for the manhunt and that shitstorm at the hospital.

"It's just...I dunno, Jan. I've always kept the two parts of my life a secret, you know? How can I go to college and be Gwen Stacy when everyone knows I can jump 50 feet in the air and outrun a speeding car?" She sighed, "I like being normal sometimes. I like waking up at home, meeting my dad and Jess and playing with Helena. I tell the world who I am and that's all over." And she couldn't bear the thought of anyone hurting them to get to her. Sure, most bad guys were smart enough to know better after Hope, but not all bad guys are smart.

"I also see your point, especially after my own incident with Hope," she replied, "In the end I can see benefits and drawbacks to both options. While the anonymity does have its own appeal, it makes it harder to balance between the two. Also, perhaps it's simply the cynic in me, but I believe that we can't keep hiding forever. Similar to Ms. Bishop and Mr. Parker, eventually a slip will come."

"Yeah..." Gwen shook her head," Look, I'll think about it, okay? Just gimme some time." Or a lot. Maybe a decade or two, "So..." She looked around to make sure they were alone before leaning in closer to whisper, "That mole I told you about? Any luck?"

"No." She frowned, "All my employees that could even have remote access to the particles are people I've vetted personally and known for years. I don't like the idea of any of them being bought or coerced. I'm trying to find any possible leaks, but it's slow going. I'm sorry."

"It's fine. Anyone leaves prison I just put em back." She didn't need all those free weekends with Peter anyway, "Update me, okay?"

"Of course."

She shifted back into her casual wear and smiled when she saw Hope and Kate sitting on the couch with the former gingerly holding onto a sleeping Helena, "Hey, how was the testing? Baby all good?"

"Yep." She smiled and picked up the sleeping infant from Hope's arms, "...Hey, Kate, could I ask you something." She looked at her curiously and nodded, "Alright, well...if you had a choice, would you have kept your secret identity or exposed it on your own terms?"

"Keep it, but that's just me." The purple clad archer shrugged, "Not that I'm scared of the whole reprisal thing - pretty sure my dad and sis have bigger enemies than I do. It's just...I dunno, helps keep me balanced, you know?"

"Yeah, I get that." Point made: never admit your secret identity, Kate said so!

Hope looked between them and spoke up, "When I become a hero I won't wear a mask!" she declared proudly. Gwen laughed under her breath and refrained from telling her that it wouldn't exactly be hard to figure out who the new female Wasp was.

"You're braver than I am hope." A tentacle jutted from her shoulder and ruffled the younger girl's hair. She shrieked and then giggled, which was way better than how MJ reacted. Speaking of... "Hey...I actually gotta go do something for a bit. Could you watch Helena?"

"Sure. Godmom Kate and Waspling are on the case!" She grinned, "Catch ya later."

* * *

**HahaHoho:** Got a feel on Spider-Woman's thighs when she saved me from falling off a bridge. Firm but pleasant. Needs to wear less, though. Show a little more skin, girl.

**Reply from FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman - **aaaand...blocked.

* * *

She said her goodbyes to the pair and called Mary Jane to a nearby cafe. The redhead had expressed some confusion considering that they'd just hung out a few hours prior but ultimately agreed. Gwen sat at the designated corner booth and took a deep breath. She'd talk to MJ about it now. No stalling, no covering her ears and pretending MJ would tell her on her own.

Mary Jane arrived after a few minutes, "Hey, Gwencent." Gwen handed her the strawberry shake, "Why'd you call? Miss me already?"

"We...We need to talk." Be firm, but gentle. Advice that was useful in a lot of contexts, "MJ...I know what you're doing."

"You mean the modeling gig? No shit, I told you about-"

"I know you're killing people."

To her credit, MJ didn't even attempt to deny it. The redhead bit her quivering lower lip and raised and lowered the straw of her drink in a rush. She looked ashamed, like Gwen had just aired out a dirty little secret for all to see, "...I know." She took a sip from her drink before shaking her head and pushing it away, "It wasn't like I've been keeping it a very good secret."

"Why are you doing it? Is it because of that symbiote?"

"Yes...and no. It's complicated." She let out a frustrated breath, "I made a deal with this thing. In exchange for cooperating and not trying to kill you anymore I agreed that I'd..."

"Kill people. Guilty people."

"Yeah..." She looked up to meet Gwen's eyes, "It'd be easy to blame this thing entirely, but I can't. I don't like being a serial killer-"

"That's not what you are."

"Let's be honest, Gwen." Now it was Gwen's turn to awkwardly sip her caramel frappe, "I don't feel proud of it, but these people...they're monsters and they got away with their crimes. How is it fair that they can rape and kill innocent people and they don't get punished? One guy drove his girlfriend to suicide after beating her and was targeting another. There was a woman who poisoned an entire family, even a baby, just because she wanted all their money. Should they have gotten away with it?"

"No, but-"

"I do feel guilty, Gwen. I've spent weeks not being able to sleep, but...I have helped people. There was a pimp who was selling _12 year olds_..." Her hands clenched and Gwen made out a surge of red flesh across the skin, "I just...I don't want it to be _all_ I am."

"Is that why you put on that costume?"

"Yeah..." She smiled bitterly, "Guess I thought for a second that I could be like you. I was being an idiot."

"You weren't." Gwen put both hands atop Mary Jane's right and squeezed it tightly, "I...I'm not gonna pretend I like this, but I've made my compromises." Peter came to mind immediately. He hadn't stopped killing people and she'd accepted that. Hell, she'd killed before. Those Skrulls and the Hydra goons at that nuclear base were self-defense, but a life taken was a life taken, "I just...I trust you, MJ. Anyone else in your position and they might've turned into a monster like Kasady. You _can_ be a hero. You were last night."

"You seriously think that?"

"I do." Gwen nodded firmly, "Look, I can show that there are other ways. We can...wean you off." Even saying it out loud didn't help. Wean her off killing people? She hadn't succeeded with Peter either.

"Wean me off being a serial killer? Sure, cause that worked out so well last time." Her laugh was bitter, though far less so than before, "...But fine, we'll do it your way. Who better to teach me than Spider-Gwen herself?"

"Okay. Let's go."

"Wait, _now?_"

"No time like the present."

* * *

**FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman: **I'd like to introduce everyone to **ScarletSpider**. She's pretty new at the biz and I've taken her under my wing. She can do a lot of good for this city.

**Reply from HohoHaha: **Now we just need Spinerette in and it'll be a threesome.** #spidersgonewild**

**Reply from FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman: **Coulda swore I blocked you...

**Reply from EPFrog: **Wait, you're taking students now? Could I go with?

**Reply from ****FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman: **Nope, sorry. She's a special case.

**Reply from NurplePerple:** LOL, _rejected_. Better luck next time, frog dude.

**Reply from StrikerNotBombshell: **This is gonna end well...

* * *

**Next chapter: Cindy dealing with more Spider-Cop shenanigans and Lana trying to have a normal day of school while looking up research on psychic Mexican girls with no records anywhere. **

**Apologies for the first segment being so...off. It's why I asked before if I should hold off on focusing so much on the supernatural aspects of Noir's segments. I'll try to focus on some more street crime level stuff, as indicated by Noir getting a text from Cindy about the Maggia. That's assuming he survives Bullseye stabbing him in the back, of course.**

**Oh, and Gwen's dealing with pregnancy news and the possibility of having to out her identity so she can keep functioning. Will she take it? Definitely not, but it won't stop Cap and She-Hulk from trying to convince her. **

**Questions:**

**1\. What do you guys honestly think of Eugene? I've gotten both like and dislike for him and I'm wondering what the ultimate opinion on him is since I'm trying to decide whether to give him more focus segments.**

**2\. I've been getting comments on it, but do you guys really want Noir to get a second power-up so he can webswing and wall-crawl? It seems like the power disparity between the leads is cropping up again and I thought that Noir having more varied stuff like the hellfire knife, gadgets and bike acted as a sufficient counter to Gwen being restricted to just webs and melee.**

**3\. Alright, let's do this one last time. Three choices now for MJ: threesome with Peter and Gwen; pair off with Matt or Felicia; or just stay alone because she's not in the right place currently. If you have an opinion pick one and I'll count them up so we can get a final plan.**

**Review Answers:**

**Brave2000 - Frog-Man made the title.**

**Roxasdualwielder - Unlikely considering he seems to hate France.**

**Cha0s4ever - Poor Peter, trapped in the web of that older Spider-Woman :( As for MJ pairing? Didn't plan one for her. It was everyone else who suggested either a threesome or her pairing off with Matt. **

**AFlyingTomato - Who could Matt really interact with, though? Gwen refuses to talk to him, Lana as well, and Cindy finds him annoying and planned to kill him. He doesn't have much friends.**

**Hardlight - Haven't seen the movie, and please don't shill it to me. I'll check on my own time. **

**Jk41kiwi - Soon as I get some inspiration for it.**

**Guest ch13 - Sure. All Karen argued was that Bullseye could be removed from Hell. Killing him again would send him back down so the deal still applies.**

**In Brightest Day - In Blackest night- sorry. Anyway, Eugene's 'appeal' is that he's essentially an egotistical teenager like comics Kick-Ass. Like you said, you kinda feel pity for him before you remember his flaws and stop feeling sorry.**

**Raw Prodigy - Strange is too high level. Also, Noir doesn't have magical aptitude apart from chi, which anyone can learn. Notice that when fighting the Vamps and Demons he was very weapon based.**

**Batguy01 - Thanks for the suggestions :) **


	15. Spider-Cop and Bombshell

**Alright, so current votes so far:**

**Peter retains powers vs Peter gets upgrades: 10 vs 12 with upgrades in the lead. Of course, people have varying definitions of upgrades - some just want wall-crawling and webswinging,others are fine without and just want him to have better gadgets other than the Hellfire knife, and of course those who just want better stealth (even though he can turn invisible already?), so it's not really a total win. Have to think about it. **

**Mary Jane threesome vs Mary Jane with Felicia or Matt vs Mary Jane alone: 13 vs 13 vs 8. Holy crap, we actually have a tie between threesome and Mary Jane solo romance :/ This is the Matt v. Gwen roommate vote all over again. Guess this one will come down to either a coinflip or more votes.**

**Also, people don't like Frog-Man :( Oh well, it's to be expected. ****And yes, in case anyone missed it, Daimon in this fic is a giant reference to V and Devil May Cry 5. Wasn't exactly being subtle, especially with using V's combat lines. **

**Anyway, these are everyone's tweeter names since I'll be making more of those segments:**

**Gwen - FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman**

**Mary Jane - ScarletSpider**

**Lana - StrikerNotBombshell**

**Eugene - EPFrog**

**Cindy - Spinerette (changed to SpiderCop later)**

**Peter - SpiderWomanMadeMeDoThis (changed to DarkSpider later at Lana's request, cause Noir can never say no to her except for what she wants most).**

**Norah - IKnowSupersAndICantTell**

**Gayle Watson - ****No1SpiderWomanFan**

* * *

**BigBertha: **Anyone else thinks Spinerette's new costume is kinda lame? I mean the jacket and pants look way less cool than her old outfit.

**RamonaPilgrim:** Well she's Spider-Cop now. Gotta look professional, yeah?

**Flatman: **Anyone remember the time she ran around dressed in nothing but white web? What was that about?

**BigBertha:** Apparently she got attacked and didn't have time for anything else. Fans seem to like it, though. Lots of cosplay for it.

**01110100101:** Didn't have time for anything else and yet somehow manages to make perfect thigh gaps? Sure lol. Hot, though.

**Spinerette:** This is why I never check my feed.

* * *

Cindy was late.

"You're late," Masters said with that smug smile of his. Cindy didn't bother to bite something back and just shoved past him a little rougher than he was expecting. She would've been lying if she said the sight of him almost falling flat on his ass didn't make her smile, "Oof, someone's in a bad mood. What's wrong, itsy bitsy? Still reelin' from your screw-up last night?"

"Screw up?" She looked back and scowled at him.

"Yeah. You know we had to clean up the mess you and your buddies left? Couldn't even clean up after yourself, huh? Not even with those fancy guns of yours?" He gave a pointed glance to the two S.H.I.E.L.D issue pistols on her shoulder holsters. It was one of the few things she managed to keep from her time with them. It was definitely more useful than the standard issue glocks and revolvers the other officers hard.

"Aww, jealous that I have betters toys than you?" She sneered, which was sadly hidden by her scarf.

"Don't need em. See, us actual cops? We don't need laser guns or your freak buddies to help people. 'f I was there last night-

"Cut the shit, Masters." Cindy _wished_ she'd been the one to say that, but once again it was Jean coming to the rescue. The older woman shoved Master's away, "You just found out about last night after seeing it on youwebs an hour ago, so don't act all high and mighty. And what did Captain Watanabe tell you about pissing off our on loan Mask expert? You really wanna piss her off and deal with Rhino on your own? Cause I'm sure she can work something out."

Masters muttered something unintelligible under his breath and stalked off. It wasn't surprising. Cindy had her hands tied and had to make a good impression. Jean, on the other hand, had given another cop a wedgie when he told her to 'unbunch her boxer briefs' over a year ago. Cindy had no idea how she got away with that, but she wasn't curious enough to question it.

"Thanks for that..." Cindy sighed. Masters knew she couldn't fight back, least not without alienating herself even more. Her job was hard enough as it was; she didn't need the other cops outright shunning her instead of just being awkward. Masters might have been an asshole, but he was one of them and she wasn't. It wasn't a fight she could win.

"No problem. That guy's a prick," she said, just loud enough for him (and everyone around him) to hear. She leaned in closer and whispered, "Hey, could we go somewhere private? I need to talk to you about something."

Cindy nodded and they made their way to her 'office'. As crappy as it was the glass was still one way and the room was still soundproof, so she didn't have to worry. As soon as she locked the door she lowered her scarf and sighed. It never stopped being weird going to work in full costume. This was so different from the time she agreed to attend that cosplay convention.

"Guessing this is about your side job?" Cindy asked. It never ceased to amaze her just how varied some of the backgrounds of the vigilantes she encountered were. Case in point Detective Jean De Wolf, who decided that apparently she thought breaking the law in order to serve it was a price she was all too happy to pay. Considering she tended to target the Maggia and their shark lawyers she probably had a point

So far she hadn't killed anyone, at least. Not that Cindy would've held it against her; she'd done too much and had too many off-color friends to make that call.

"Mostly." Jean tossed her a burner phone, "Got that from a Maggia goon by the name of Vito Scaletta. They're planning something, and I think it has something to do with that human trafficking bust those two kids busted." She frowned slightly at that. She made it clear she didn't like teenagers getting involved. Frank Castle might've been a former cop turned vigilante, but at least he was legal age.

"How so?"

"Ol' Vito's name popped up on that anonymous USB we got. But of course he had an alibi the night of the incident and when we got the warrant for his house there was nothing there. After some...persuasion I managed to pry something out of him." Meaning fear gas, cause apparently Scarecrow was making a killing outside of Gotham, "Apparently the Maggia have been in contact with a new player in town-"

"Lemme guess, guy going by the name of Scorpion?"

"Bingo." Cindy sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. She _knew_ she shouldn't have taken that deal, "Apparently he's a real up and comer and making some waves by dealing with the Mauchio family. Vito's boss thinks he can use Scorpy to try and depose the other families."

"Odd. I thought la cosa nostra kept business in-house?"

"They did, but the mob's been losing ground for years now. Supervillains are all the rage these days." Right, she'd heard something about that. Cindy still couldn't believe that some people had the gall to complain that the mob was the good old days. Apparently cement shoes and murdered families were somehow better just cause a guy in a pinstriped suit was doing it.

"Right, I'll text Pete about it later." De Wolfe frowned again, "Hey, I know you have issues with him but he knows these guys better than I do. Besides, I don't think you have room to throw stones Ms. Purple Bondage Queen."

"That's even worse than Wraith." She scoffed, "Speaking of secret identities, we really should talk about yours."

"For the last time, I'm not calling myself Spider-Cop no matter how many times-"

"Not that! And I never told you to do that!" She totally did. Granted she was drunk at the time but Cindy still counted it, "Just listen. Masters started shit with you in front of everyone and no one stepped up to help you but me. You know why that is?"

"Because you're a badass with a heart of gold?" She asked, looking at the older woman with faux-starstruck eyes.

De Wolfe smirked despite her best efforts to the contrary, "Yes, but also because Masters knows one thing: you're not a cop, and as much of an asshole as he is he's known some of these guys for years. That means something."

"I _know_ that. You think S.H.I.E.L.D was singing around a campfire for me? They didn't like the Superhero muscling in on their territory either." Nevermind that she did every assignment to her admirably. That just pissed them off even more.

"Exactly. Superhero, cause that's all you are to them." She grabbed the scarf from Cindy's neck, "None of them knew you, not really. Doubt you wore this back then, but did you even try to make friends with those agents?" Cindy kept quiet because she really didn't. Woo just soiled her to everyone except Daisy, Natasha and a few others, "That's the issue here. You don't go out to drink, don't talk about families, nothing. You're just Spinerette."

"You say that like it's a bad thing." Cindy snatched her scarf back.

"It's not, but it _is_ the reason your life's more difficult than it needs to be." Jean crossed her arms, "In this entire precint I'm the only one who knows who you are."

"Yeah, because I found out from Spider-Woman about your side-job and I felt guilty. Tit for tat." That and she figured it'd be better if she could cover for De Wolfe. Despite her solemn vows that every outing would be her last she always had a knack for coming back to the purple streamers, "The other cops aren't vigilantes on the side, last I checked."

"Why do they have to be?" De Wolfe countered, "Look, I get it if you're trying to keep your face hidden because you don't want your family hurt, but that excuse ain't gonna fly for them. They go out every day and a lot of them - even Masters - got threats. And they buckled down and kept going. Hiding behind a scarf's the last thing that's gonna get their respect."

"So what, you want me to have my coming out story here?" Cindy snarked back.

"I'm suggesting it's a possibility. If you wanna keep your family safe I understand." She didn't actually worry about that. Her evil twin had cut off contact from her family for so many years that no one even realized she had any family. Even then S.H.I.E.L.D made sure that, as far as the files were concerned, the Moon family just had the crappy luck to share a last name with that psychopath. It wasn't hard; there were a bunch of Moons in the city.

Cindy licked her lips and looked down. Cap _had_ suggested doing a 'controlled identity exposure' and she didn't really have to worry too much about backlash: 'her' family was insured and just about everyone she knew either had enemies of their own or they could take care of themselves. Anyone that tried to kidnap her ki- er, Laura would be in for a hell of a surprise.

"Okay."

"I'll understand if you-" De Wolfe paused to just look at her, "Wait, what'd you say?"

"I said okay." She tossed the scarf at her desk, "For the record I doubt it'll help, but I'm really freaking tired of doing paperwork and making coffee runs with a scarf on my face. I feel like a kid playing bandito." Not to mention people stared at her on the lineup to Starkbucks and no, she refused to cut even if Tony Stark allowed it. She'd done a lot of horrible things, but that was sacred.

"Right...well, that was easier than I thought it'd be." Jean shrugged, "So do we gather everyone up or-"

"Don't bother. We're going to have a briefing in about 10 minutes. I'll just go in and treat it like normal. If anyone asks I'll answer, but _hopefully_ everyone here's professional enough to focus on work instead of losing their crap like Spider-Woman's fans." She never really saw the appeal of being popular. Screw those guys who thought she was jealous of Gwen's 'superior influence'. If it meant less spam and cheap pornos made of her Gwen could keep that 'superiority'.

15 minutes later (fuck paperwork) and she was making her way to the briefing/break (they _really_ didn't have much funding) room. As soon as she opened the door the cops who were up for the briefing after her's stopped and _stared_. Cindy very much tried not to feel like the girl from one of those high school coming of age films and just shuffled- er, _strode confidently_ to her seat.

_Of course_ Masters was the first one to see her, "Hey, who brought their kid here? This is a briefing room, not a high school!" He said loudly. For a second she thought he was making another insult before remembering she'd shucked off her jacket and holsters because of the heat (air-conditioning was busted). Did he seriously not recognize her? Ha, Gwen could take her comments about her scarf and suck it!

"Nice to see you too, Masters." She sat next to him (it was the only seat available) and crossed her arms. Masters' eyes narrowed in confusion before they suddenly widened like she'd punched him in the crotch, "What're you staring at?"

"You..forgot your scarf or somethin'?" Oh, she wished she had a camera for this.

"No, why?"

He didn't get a chance to respond before Captain Watanabe took their attention, "Alright people, focus. This is a police station, not a classroom." If she cared at all about Cindy's sudden lack of a mask (scarf) then she didn't show it. Always focused on the job, that one.

"I should start." Jean stood up and activated the power point, "We've been getting a rash of robberies from someone who witnesses claim 'flew in like a bird'." The slide showed a silhouette with large wings on their arms flying away from an Oscorp tech lab, "The sightings match the description of Adrian Toomes, alias Vulture, but considering he's in the morgue, I doubt it's him."

"Think he sold his tech to someone before Spider-Man offed him?" Ben Grimm asked. Big guy, total sweetheart, happily married with two adorable twin boys whose picture he kept on his desk. She liked him, though that was at least partly cause he was the ever-loving blue eyed Thing back home. It was nice to know that being nice transcended dimensions sometimes.

"Possible, but unlikely. Toomes' psyche profile before his death indicated someone extremely possessive of his wings and he only 'shared' with those children he 'adopted'. I'm still following up on this with a couple of witnesses."

"Who was present at the lab at the time?"

"A Dr. Elsa Brock and the owner of Oscorp, Harry Osborn."

Gobby...of course he'd be involved with it. To be perfectly fair to the guy she didn't hate him anymore. With the Lizard cured and him finally deciding to quit his vigilante redemption quest he'd actually been doing good. Last she checked he went back to working for his dad - and swallowing his pride doing so - and he was doing well. He and Gwen still hung out sometimes.

"Something to say, Spinerette?" Captain Watanabe asked.

"It's Cindy, actually. Cindy Moon." Technically Cindy Miller on her ID, but tomayto tomatoe. She didn't actually own her condo either; according to the records the owner was an old Chinese woman who lived in Denver who didn't actually exist.

"Cindy Moon? Ain't that the name of the terrorist you guys stopped?" Ben squinted and looked closer, "You look kinda alike too."

"Yeah, well, I'm her from another dimension." Masters immediately snorted, "Something to say, Masters?"

"Another dimension? You expect us to believe that crap?"

"Right, cause it's _so_ much more insane than believing aliens and demons exist- _oh wait_." She gave him a flat, mocking look while his face reddened in anger, "It's the truth, but frankly I don't give a crap if you don't believe me."

"Haven't you read a single Captain America book? Alternate dimensions exist, pal," Ben said. She threw him an appreciative nod and he smiled back.

"Fine, she's from another dimension. But then how do we know we can trust her? She's some kind of copy of a fucking terrorist!"

"Ignoring the fact that I helped _stop her_, you mean?" Cindy snarled back, the scars peeking through her short sleeved shirt, "Like Ben said, read a Captain America comic. The same people can be completely different across dimensions. For example, I'm pretty sure that there's at least one world out there where you aren't a raging dickhead with daddy issues."

"You fucking bit-"

"Enough!" Captain Watanabe shouted. Everyone immediately shut up, "Moon, I understand your apprehension but I'd appreciate it if you didn't cuss out one of my officers. Do I make myself clear?" Cindy nodded and grit her teeth.

"Thank you, Captain-"

"You're on thin ice too, Masters." She threw him a glare, "I've warned you multiple times to avoid antagonizing her and you've failed to comply. Do you really want to take over her cases?" Masters shrunk into his seat like a reprimanded teenager, "That's what I thought. Now, I don't want to hear you antagonizing her in the workplace any longer. I hear another incident like this and you'll be suspended. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Captain..." Masters glared at her and she smiled back smarmily.

"Good. Now, you were saying, Moon?"

"Right. Well, I was actually going to say that I know one of the witnesses. Harry Osborn's an old...acquaintance." He wasn't a _friend_, even if they did have their benefits, "Permission to go with Jean? He might be more willing to talk to me than someone he doesn't know."

"Granted. What about your own cases?"

"Working on it." She took Jean's place and booted up her own powerpoint, "We've recently gotten evidence that the Matthews case is linked to a human trafficking ring smuggling in those who were present when the Terrigen Mist came down on New York. The people at the hospital were there to kidnap one of the victims identified only as Aracely."

"And where is this girl now?" Wilson Allan asked. He was an older guy, at least past 50, and a little more on the heavyset side with a bald head and a thick mustache. She didn't know much else about him apart from the fact that he had a teenage daughter.

"I put her in one of my safehouses." Technically not a lie. She _did_ have a few other safehouses around the city (pretty sure she was sharing one with Moon Knight, actually) and her apartment technically counted, "Given the circumstances of what happened the night prior, I thought it'd be safer than putting her in a public area and having a repeat."

"I don't wholly disagree, but next time please run it by me," Captain Watanabe said. Cindy refrained from telling her she wasn't actually her boss and her Avengers credentials trumped the police's, "Did you get a chance to interrogate these mercenaries?"

"Not formally, but 'Pyro' did mention that they worked through intermediaries. I'll do it later after we interview Go- uh, Mr. Osborn."

The rest of the assembled cops completed their own assigned work and everyone pitched in when possible. Masters was actually pretty helpful sometimes, which was probably the reason he hadn't gotten fired yet. Still, she did pity the guy who was assigned to bust Bodega Bandit and his Banditos. Apparently even Gwen decided he wasn't worth her time.

She was barely out of the room and chatting with Jean when Masters came up to her, "Fr- _Moon_," he said through gritted teeth. Cindy raised her brow and waited for him to continue, "Captain Watanabe insisted that we learn to work together so I came here to...apologize." Wow, she'd never seen someone look so sick before; and she helped She-Hulk and Gwen evacuate those people from that nuclear plant meltdown. Radiation resistance had its benefits.

"Okay then, I'm waiting."

"What? That's it, I apologized-"

"No, you didn't, but to be honest I don't really care about your half-assed apology." She pushed past him and kept smiling all the way down to Jean's squad car - after taking her jacket and holster back, of course.

"You were right, talking crap to his face is _much_ better."

"Not what I said, but okay." Jean buckled in her seatbelt, "You know Captain Watanabe's gonna lecture you about being the bigger woman."

"I should probably remind her that she's not actually my boss and that's the only reason I'm not suing for workplace harassment." She did actually like Captain Watanabe. Nice to see a professional, "You know I could just swing us over there. Probably faster than this clunker." Seriously, how old was this thing? It was probably older than Peter was.

"Yeah, I wanna keep my breakfast inside, thanks."

"Your loss."

* * *

**BestCopInNYC: **So...Spinerette just revealed her identity, I think?

**Reply from InfinityMobius: **Oh great, another one of these. Lemme guess, she has mandibles like Kitana from Immortal Konflict?

**Reply from BestCopInNYC: **No. Actually, she was...really young. I have a daughter her age...I think. She looked 18.

**Reply from FactChannelIntern: **Spinerette said she was 28 last year, so she should be 29 now.

**Reply from AlsoTheBestCopInNYC: **Can confirm since I was there (hey Alex!). Yeah, she looks really young for someone pushing 30. Think she lied about her age?

**SpaghettiInMahPockets: **Her update a few months ago said she was drinking vodka for the first time...actually, that was literally her last update. Thought she died from alcohol poisoning :0

**Peralta99: -embedded image- **Hey, I managed to snag a pic of her. Sexy scars, right?

**CapeChaser11: **Holy crap, she _is_ young! She's like a baby!

**VampyrSlayer**: Think I could ask her out? I'm on the next precinct over.

**TruthShallSetYouFree:** Still think it's fake.

**Spinerette:** It's real, and I'm going to tell Amy about the nudes you have of her, **Peralta99**. I'm glad to know that being 29 means I still count as a baby, by the way. Also, yes, **VampyrSlayer**, I will go on a date with you ;)

**Peralta99:** Oh come on!

**VampyrSlayer:** Score!

**EPFrog:** Lucky...

**FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman:** Thanks for the heads up, Cin... :/

**StrikerNotBombshell:** Hey at least she revealed it on her own. Some of us didn't get that chance.

* * *

Lana hated it when people pointed. Especially when they were pointing at her.

The brunette groaned softly as the bruises in her face throbbed. Unlike everyone else in their rag-tag group she didn't have the benefit of healing insanely fast. Which of course meant that when she came to class looking like a cheap hooker beat up by her pimp who had mommy issues (hey, she was entitled to make those jokes) people wouldn't. stop. pointing.

She scratched at her bandaged cheek and growled under her breath. She'd been lucky enough to keep both eyes and not lose any of her teeth, but that didn't make the bruises any less sore. The painkillers she got from Cin helped.

"Mmgh." She turned to the next page of her notebook and continued to write down her math notes. Contrary to the norm, Lana actually liked Math. She'd always had a good memory and it was just remembering equations and when to use them. Definitely easier than History or English lit. Long, boring essays were the fucking worst and way too 'subjective'. Least Math was just right or wrong.

Her thoughts drifted back to Aracely. She couldn't even imagine - okay, she _could_, but whatever - having such a crappy couple of days. Being trapped in a cargo container, waking up with the threat of being deported and then having those fucking chuckleheads try to kidnap her. And all of that when you didn't even remember anything but your first name.

"Ugh, why does she have to go to class like _that?_" someone behind her whispered.

"I _know!_ It's so embarrassing!"

Lana pressed her lips into a thin line - ow, ow, ow! - and said nothing. What was the point? They didn't like her here and, hey, she didn't like being here either. Good thing these prissy witches didn't have the balls to say shit to her face. Unlike Midtown High the girls here didn't wanna risk pissing off someone who could wreck their plastic surgeries and boob jobs.

Class finished eventually and Lana breathed a sigh of relief at the lunch bell. She and Anya didn't share lunch, so that meant sitting alone in the corner and glaring at all the normies.

"Lana!"

Or maybe not.

The brunette's bruised face lit up in a smile when she saw her, "Lily!" She accepted the hug and she laughed, "What are you doing here?"

"I heard that you got in trouble last night so I thought I'd visit." She flashed the visitor's badge with a grin, "That and I thought I'd visit my alumni. Is Mrs. Rosenberg still-"

"Yep, still playing favorites. Come on, let's eat. I'm starving."

5 minutes later and the two were sitting while a few of the other students pointed (ugh) and whispered. Some of them still didn't believe she was the 'esteemed' mayor's (bastard) daughter, "So, how's the fashon scene?" Lana spooned some of the pasta into her mouth. At least the school had fancy, world class chefs, "I heard you were working with that Agreste guy?"

"Oh, that fell through. Your brand kinda falls apart when people find out you're a Supervillain." Huh, maybe she heard something about that? Pete said something about ripping off some butterfly dude's mask and throwing him off the Eiffel tower, "I'm actually working with a local brand now. Wont be as big, but at least it means I can stay here."

"Yeah, stay in the Supervillain central of the world. Lucky you."

"It's also where my badass little sister is, so I'll take it." Lana rolled her eyes. Lily thought all those years apart meant she had to make-up by being the 'cool big sis', "So, are you okay? Your..." She gestured to her face.

"Yeah. Trust me, you should see the other guy." She didn't know Jane had such a vicious streak. If the guy didn't punch her face in she might've actually felt sorry for him, "...Actually, it's not me I'm worried about."

"Tell me."

She did. She didn't worry about being overheard - none of these pampered witches would do anything even if she confessed. Lily just sat and listened with only the occasional comment to show she was still listening.

"I dunno what to do. I mean, we can't keep her at Cin's place forever." And she still didn't know what to do about the deportation thing. Unless they magically found some papers proving she was a US citizen this wasn't going to end well.

"I could house her if you want?"

"Nah, I don't want William knowing about her." Especially considering her 'quirks'. Something told her Lily wouldn't take it well when she started floating off the bed, "It's fine. I'll handle this; I always do."

They talked until lunch ended Lana made her way to the library for study hall. Another good thing about this place: decent wi-fi. Lana logged into her account and brought up multiple Giigle pages.

"Alright, let's see if we can get something..." She typed in Aracely's name. The first name to come up was some Mexican actress she'd never heard of who looked just a bit too middle aged. A few more links led to some headbook pages and, bizarrely, one off-brand of race car, "Come on..." There had to be something. The girl had to have existed before she got shoved into damn damn crate.

She tried a reverse image search from her phone, but again no dice. Girl had no footprint, digital or otherwise.

"Fuck..." She leaned back on her chair and groaned. Would she really have to go to William? Or would Cin get her buddies to make a fake ID for her? The latter option definitely sounded better for her, but she wasn't sure if it wouldn't have its own drawbacks. Sighing, she went to the youwebs to try and take her mind off it for a bit. She loaded up the front page and raised an eyebrow when she saw one of the recommended vids.

"Spider-Man: Into the mind of a vigilante?" It wasn't shocking, exactly. Even before the Initiative came out there were wannabe psychologists and 'experts' who thought they knew what made the Masks and Freaks - cause fuck that political correct bullshit - tick. They were mostly wrong, but it was always good for a laugh. One of her favorites was when one doctor claimed Spider-Gwen was a hero because 'she was born into privelege and feels a sense of nobless oblige to help her fellow man'.

Lana snorted. Stacy wouldn't know 'nobless oblige' if it bit her in that big ass of hers.

_"But Spider-Man is one individual who's really drawn my attention. Other Gifted individuals receive benefits for their heroism whether it be adoration, fame or even just cold hard cash. I don't doubt their nobility, of course. My daughter's a very big fan of the Avengers and I'm grateful they helped us when it came to crises such as the Skrull Invasion or HYDRA."_

Oh, she remembered those fucking green men. She was working with MVP and Anya when they dropped that fucking Godzilla monster on the city. Thankfully Spider-Gwen stopped it, though she _did_ nearly land on her. She really didn't want to end her hero career to end by by a buttstain.

_"Which brings us back to Spider-Man; and others like him such as the enigmatic Moon Knight or this new Devil of Hell's Kitchen."_ Aka Matt Murdock the douchebag,_ "Despite my initial trepidation I do believe they wish to help people. My only doubt comes from the fact that their methods are obscene. The number they've killed is innumberable." _Nope, unless you counted the ninjas who were basically braindead anyway, _And those that they do leave alive are left in mangled states."_

And then it went on and on and on. If they were heroes why did they have to kill people? If they were heroes why didn't they join the Initiative? And so on and so forth. Lana only half paid attention and clicked on another link. Another armchair psychologist trying to 'delve into the superhero oxymoron'.

_"Now I'm not saying the heroes haven't done good." _Why did they always start off with that? It was basically saying 'With all due respect, kiss my ass', _"But we can't deny that these Gifted individuals have escalated a conflict that in no way needed escalation. The same way the creation of firearms revolutionized warfare, the Superheroes' existence led to the creation of the criminals they stopped."_

Lana rolled her eyes. Right, cause Captain America was responsible for H.Y.D.R.A, right? Pete was probably responsible for the Hand too if they followed that logic. People found a way to nitpick fucking everything. You find the cure for cancer and people would bitch that it made their tongue dry. Everyone just wanted everything on a silver fucking platter and even then they'd still find someone to blame for something.

5 minutes of free period left. She checked tweeter and raised an eyebrow. Jane just became Spider-Gwen's sidekick and Cin apparently decided an identity reveal was in order. Great, no one ever told her anything. She left a couple of comments before shutting off the computer and rubbing her eyes. She was exhausted, but she knew she needed to do a couple of hours patrol after work at least. Wouldn't do to be lazy.

Class passed by surprisingly quick after that. Lana and Anya met up at their dorm room and she immediately began changing into her suit, "Sure you don't wanna come?" Lana asked as she put on her longcoat.

"Can't. Scholarship means I need every little percent and that means extra credit." She raised her stacks of math extras and groaned.

"Hang in there. I'll tutor you when I get back." She ruffled Anya's hair as she passed and put on her domino mask when she got to the window. Anya muttered something in Spanish under her breath and Lana jumped, propelling herself upwards. The school actually accommodated her hero work and gave her a window that led to the parking lot. Well, that and no one else wanted it.

It was actually a pretty slow day today. She ran into a few other Initiative graduates (and Frog boy) but didn't bother to team up. She'd only be in it for a couple of hours and she didn't really see the point.

The sun was just coming down when she yawned and sat on the edge of a low building. She sipped her corner store soda and tapped Pete's number to call him. No answer, "Huh, must be busy..." Not surprising. He was probably fighting a buncha demon vampire zombies or something. She yawned again and rubbed her eyes with her free hand. Note to self: don't trick booze on a school night.

Her self-pity was cut off when she saw a van screeching down a road being chased by the cops, "One more..." She stood up and propelled herself ahead. She landed briefly on the ground and jumped again just as the police car careened and smacked into lamppost, "Hope they're alright." She'd check on them later. Had to stop the road ragers first before they ran over someone.

She landed on the roof of the van and knocked on the surface, "Hey, you passed a red light!" ...She really needed to work on her banter. The van swerved to the side and she almost fell entirely before she punched through the metal to create a makeshift handhold. Thank god for explosive fists.

The door opened and a guy popped out waving a machinegun. She recognized the tags on his jacket immediately: Serpent Skull. She'd ran into them more than a few times. Small time thugs who worked for bigger groups. The guy aimed for her and she immediately shot his chest. He flew off the back of the van and and landed on the road with a painful crack. That'd hurt in the morning.

Bullets whizzed past underneath her. She rolled off the right side of the red death trap and hung off the edge, "You missed, assholes!" She shimmied to the back door and punched a woman who went out to check. She joined her buddy in the ground soon after and Lana jumped inside.

Barrels. The inside was filled to the brim with white barrels, "The fuck?!" The prick at the passenger screamed and started firing a fucking _shotgun _at her. Lana ducked underneath the barrels and the the pellets punctured through the plastic. Reddish pink gas immediately seeped out through the holes and covered the entirety of the van till she couldn't see anything.

"You pierced the canisters! We have to-"

Lana propelled herself forward and kicked them both the drive and the passenger out before slamming on the brakes. She made sure the van had come to a complete stop before she finally stumbled out coughing, "Fuck..." She coughed harder and looked around her. Civilians, but none of them were hurt. Small victories. She looked back at the van and cringed at the gas slowly seeping out.

She was pretty sure she'd seen it before: Terrigen Mist. She wasn't in the part of the town that'd been affected before. At least she knew it'd be harmless...well, mostly. Wouldn't kill you at least.

She only managed a couple more steps before her body froze up, "Wh-What?" She looked down at her hands and gasped when blue started covering her entire body. What the fuck? She'd seen it before. The cocoons people got into before they woke up with powers. _But she already had powers,_ the loud part of her mind screamed just before everything went black.

* * *

**ButterflyTornado: **Yo, Terrigen Mist spill between 1st and 3rd Wilson avenue! Anyone who wants powers get in on this!

**BirdMania:** And get powers like your shit turning white? No thanks. I'll stay human.

**FarOut: -embedded image- **Yo, Bombshell just got cocooned! Badass!

**IllegalBlonde: **WTF?! She already has powers! Some people get all the luck...

* * *

Lana didn't know how long she was unconscious, but as soon as she saw light she struggled and punched. Her fists hit something hard and she punched harder till she heard a large crack.

Lana fell out off the crystal cocoon and landed on the ground on all fours. She gasped and grasped her face desperately to make sure everything was still there. Both eyes, her nose, her mouth...all there. Arms and legs were there too. She looked around frantically and still found civilians either gaping or taking pictures with a few even jumping close to the van and breathing in the mist. She wasn't unconscious for long.

She stumbled to a nearby shop and checked on her reflection. No change at all, just regular old Striker.

Except for her hands.

Lana looked down at her shaking palms. The rings of light were gone, replaced by glowing arcs of energy surged from her palms and wrists all the way up the length of her arm. It didn't hurt, it just felt...weird. She already had powers, so why the fuck did that thing do anything to her? More importantly, what did it do to her? She was already a reusable suicide bomber.

Screams from behind drew her attention again. Lana looked back and growled softly when she saw two more Serpent Skull goons wearing gasp masks trying to jack the van, "Hey!" She raised a hand to blast them before another coughing fit forced her to the ground. Damn mist. Whoever made this thing she'd love to give them a kick right up their assholes.

She was so busy coughing she didn't notice the pistol aimed right for her before the bullet was right at her shoulder.

Lana screamed...for a couple of seconds. The bulled ripped through didn't go through -_ thank you_, Melvin Potter - but it still should have hurt more. She looked down at her elbow and gaped when white energy seeped through the fabric before suddenly dying away. It didn't hurt anymore.

"What the fuck?!" The gunman screamed. Three more shots, each of them hitting her in the mid-section. Again the pain only lasted for only a couple of seconds before the energy stopped shining and she was back.

That was...useful.

Lana tried to run ahead; emphasis on tried. As soon as she made to rush towards the van she _surged_ forward like a kid on skates and ended up bumping against the bullet-ridden side of it facefirst, "Agh, fuck!" She ended up flat on her back on the ground...and the thug, who looked just as surprised as she was, aiming a gun at her face, "...Shit."

She reached a hand out to blast him. It worked, but not in the way she wanted. A wave of energy rushed out of her palm and the guy was blown back through the air...and stayed there. The masked bastard stumbled like a drowning man and when she did finally manage to blast him with a (much smaller than she intended) explosion the guy _flew _and smacked against the wall of a nearby building.

That was new.

She pushed herself up and made to stop the driver only to find a shotgun aimed at her face, "Better luck next time, Baumgartner." She knew that voice. Lana barely managed a curse before Diamondback pulled the trigger and everything went black again.

Lana woke up to someone shaking her shoulder, "Striker, are you okay?!" She squeezed her eyes shut briefly before suddenly forcing them open. The sudden brightness blinded her for a few seconds before it was replaced by Frog boy's (still broken) mask, "Oh, thank god." His head sagged in relief and she looked past him to find, as expected, the van missing and that bitch Diamondback nowhere in sight.

Fuck.

"H...How long was I out?" Better question: how the fuck was she still alive? She was pretty sure she wasn't bulletproof like Spider-Gwen and Jane were. Her head should've been salsa after eating a shotgun point blank, "You see a red van full of bulletholes?"

"You were out for a few minutes. A-And yeah, it went that way." He pointed to the right, "Dunno where it went after that, though. I wanted to check on you."

"Huh...well, thanks." She smiled at him briefly before pulling herself up into a shaky stand. She almost tripped a couple of seconds in before Frog boy helped balance her, "...Why do you smell like tacos."

"I was, uh, taking a break when I heard the commotion."

"Shit, now I'm hungry for tacos." She shook her head to try and stave off the dizziness and licked her dry lips, "Fuck, my fucking head's killing me..." Despite her complaints she knew she was lucky. She'd take a migraine over not having a head.

"Y-Yeah, I saw what that villain did to you." Frog boy said, "Um...I didn't know you could heal from bullets that fast."

"Me either." The mist was gone. Good riddance, "I took a facefull of that Terrigen Mist thing. It...did something to me."

"W-Woah, that must mean you're one of the Gifted. I mean, you already were, but-"

"Could you stop talking please? Words hurt..."

And just like they always were, the police arrived way too late. Lana cringed at the loud siren as two police officers stepped out of the car. The driver, an older guy built like a rock, surveyed the scene with a frown while the younger one cursed under his breath, "The hell happened here?" Officer Brick asked.

"Serpent Skulls were carrying barrels of that Terrigen Mist thing." And she inhaled it, but they didn't need to know that.

"Shit..." Officer Brick muttered something into his radio, "This is officer Grimm. Serpent Skulls are in posession of Terrigen Mist, over."

"And, uh, where are they now, 'hero'?" Younger guy's voice was condescending as all hell.

"They're gone, as you can plainly see. Might wanna ask their pals where they went. All of em should still be breathing." Well, except maybe floaty guy, but she wasn't in control of herself then.

"Fuck, you know you freaks just make everything worse? Shoulda left this for the experts."

"Masters!" Officer Grimm glared at him.

"Oh, I'm sorry, where were _you_ guys? Oh, that's right, crashed in a fucking pole about a mile that way!" Lana scowled up at him and pried herself off Frog-Boy to stand on her own two feet. She was _not_ in the mood for this shit, "You wanna go after these guys? Be my guest. I gotta get back anyway."

She shoved past Officer Dickface and managed to round the corner before the dizziness came back and she was forced to lean against the wall for balance. She stayed there for about a minute before Frog boy was there again, "I'm fine!" Lana growled at him. She immediately felt guilty when he shrunk back. Guy was just trying to help and she was taking it all out on him, "...Sorry, I'm just not in a good mood. I know you're just trying to help."

"I-It's cool. You need help back to your place?

"Sure. It's not too far anyway." She leaned against Frogger and they silently made it all the way back to her prison- er, _place of education_. Eugene dropped her off at the gate (school rules) and Lana stumbled inside and took the stairs in lieu of boosting herself up. For all she knew she'd end up shooting herself to outer space.

Lana stumbled inside her room and Anya's smile was immediately replaced with a worried look when she saw her state, "What the heck happened to you?" The other girl immediately helped steady her.

"Long story..." She stumbled to her bed only to scream when she felt something was most definitely not pillows under the blankets. Lana pulled the fabric back and groaned when she saw Aracely staring up at her with equally wide eyes, "What the fuck, Aracely?! What are you doing here?!" She turned to Anya, "And how the fuck didn't you know she was here?!"

"I was studying and thought you just bunched up your pillows! I didn't think anyone would sneak inside!" Anya shot back.

"Fuck..." Her headache was getting worse, "Aracely, how did you find me."

"I followed your voice." Right, she almost forgot that she was some kind of fucking telepath, "I...I didn't feel safe in the apartment alone." Huh, she sounded _way_ more fluent than last night.

"How are you speaking English so well?"

"Am I? I'm just...talking." Great, another thing they had to deal with.

"What do we do with her?" Anya asked.

"Well we can't just kick her out..." Lana sighed, "...Fuck, we'll keep her here for now. William didn't pay extra for a maid so as long as we keep quiet she can stay for a few days." She turned to Aracely, "You hear me? _Quiet_. They find you in here and we're both expelled and they'll turn you over to the cops."

"Yes. Quiet as a mouse."

Lana breathed softly and stripped till she was in nothing but a tanktop and her undies. She'd need to call Wasp or something...tomorrow. Right now she just wanted to _sleep,_ "Scoot over..." She pushed Aracely to the other side of the bed and practically collapsed while Anya threw up her arms and went back to studying. Sleep, beatiful and merciful mistress, take her now.

...

She looked up and glared as Aracely floated off the bed and took the entire blanket with her. Anya gaped and pointed with a silent scream while Lana covered her face with a pillow and yelled into it.

* * *

**ButterflyTornado: -embedded video- **Striker's new powers in action! **#canshegetanystronger #isurehopeso**

**IllegallyBlonde: **So first that bitch gets explosion powers and hangs out with celebs and now she gets even _more?_ God really is dead.

**HartManiac:** Sounds like someone's a little jealous, _Brooke_. Salty that Lana didn't give you that shoutout you wanted :P

**No1SpiderWomanFan: **Holy crap, I gotta call her!

* * *

**So yeah, Cindy has _the_ most limp identity reveal in the entire story while Lana gets a Terrigenesis power boost proving that she's an Inhuman. Good for her, but considering Roxxon already being interested in her and his M.O being gathering up Inhumans, this spells bad things for her future. On the bright side she's much harder to kill now so maybe Sue won't worry as much. **

**For anyone who might want a basis for her new abilities, check out Fetch from Infamous: First Light. Anyway, next chapter will be Mary Jane's attempts at heroism and then either Cindy's interview with Harry or Noir's heartwarming reunion with Bullseye. We'll see.**

**Questions:**

**1\. So apparently there are people shipping Matt with Karen...why? It's not like anything in that scene was shippy or anything. Ruth even saying 'she loves you' was intended to be creepy.**

**2\. So I've been getting suggestions for MJ to have alternate LI's. Anyone have any suggestions? A friend suggested Kate as a 'stable' option and those who want Clone Saga want a Male!Gwen clone. Curious on everyone's thoughts...and no, not Norah. Pretty sure I made clear that that wasn't happening.**

**3\. The severe lack of good bois in this story has been noted. Anyone have any suggestions for any male non anti-heroes? So far I only have Gabriel and the upcoming Iron Fist and MVP. **

**Review Answers:**

**Raymond49090rc - Having no life tends to do that.**

**In Brightest Day: Let those who worship evil's might. Beware my power - Green Lanter's light. As for Teresa? She was already a major character last volume and I don't know what she'd be doing now with Matt pacified.**

**Noisy-Cricket - An odd comment given that in the MCU, which is Marvel at its most widespread, no one has secret identities apart from Spider-Man and Daredevil; and the original ending of Homecoming was him unmasking in front of the press ala Civil War. Secret identities aren't as required when the heroes have government backing. **

**Also, no Devil Triggers. Trying to avoid super modes after the Lizard serum.**

**SpiderGod766 - Depends. Cloak and Dagger and for Cindy's side.**

**Cha0s4Ever - Why keep Gwen's identity secret? Other heroes prove they can function just fine with them exposed.**

**Jk41kiwi - Because Noir's human and can be flawed as well. He trusted Bullseye and he didn't get attacked till after he hugged him, at which point he was too close to dodge. Spider-sense only gives you a few seconds warning; it doesn't give you intent till the attack actually commences.**

**Titan616 - Ha, reviewed right before I was gonna update :P And I don't think you have to worry about Lana being overshadowed by Noir after this chapter...**


	16. Finally they sleep

**Some people seem to be confused about Lana's segment. When I said look at Fetch from Infamous: First Light I didn't mean that I literally gave Lana Neon powers. I meant that it's a good basis for what her capabilities are. She's still got her old powerset, it's just far more refined now that she's had a proper terrigenesis. She uses energy and explosive blasts, not Neon.**

**A few people also mentioned Flash Venom. I feel like I should remind people that Flash is not a war veteran in this dimension and is just a friendly jock type. Also going out with Glory, so going with MJ is a no-go. I'm also not planning to have anymore dimensional drop-ins so getting the 616 version is a no go. **

**Anyway, the threesome option lost; mostly on the basis that a bunch of people are flat out against it, which counts as a negative vote. The current winner is MJ with either Felicia or Matt. This should be fun. **

**Also, buffing Noir has won the vote by a narrow margin...but there's a catch. People can't seem to agree whether they want wall-crawling/webswinging, more demonic gadgets or, and this is a weird one, a freaking _devil trigger. _Guess different people want different power-ups.**

**Side Note - Big thanks to Nerdman3000 for the new cover :D Really flattering to have someone make a cover for free. **

* * *

**Truther:** Anyone else notice that most of the heroes we have are female? The big names like Spider-Woman, She-Hulk, Captain America, Wasp- heck, just all the Avengers really. Anyone else find that weird?

**Whyyyyyyy: **Not really? I mean half the world is female, so 50/50 shot. Nothing odd about it.

**HINdsIGHtLad**: Pfft, that's what sheeple like **Whyyyyyyy **want you to think. We all know it's a fucking conspiracy. Pretty soon us guys are gonna

**Doorgal**: Dude, you've literally been banned twice because you've been making sexist comments and ranting about the 'feminist super conspiracy'. Take a fucking chill pill and quiet acting like all women are out to get you.

**HINdsIGHtLad**: Wasn't talking to you, *&&^ *

**Doorgal:** Lol they still put a profanity filter on you? Bitch.

**Truther:** Not saying I agree with **HINdsIGHtLad **but it is pretty weird. Why don't we ever see any male Avengers?

**Whyyyyyyy: **What about the Initiative? I see a lot of guys over there.

**HINdsIGHtLad**: Yeah, and how many of em have powers? Yeah, that's what I thought. Those *&$&* femoids are giving themselves all the powers and leaving men with nothing. Selfish %&^*

**Spinerette:** Yes, **HINdsIGHtLad**, me and Cap - who has no powers, by the way - are planning right now to overthrow men because we have nothing better to do like saving the world or fighting crime.

**HINdsIGHtLad**: I &* &** knew it!

**FiendlyNeighborhoodSpiderwoman:** Why are you feeding the troll, Spinerette?

**Spinerette: **Cause he's the one who tried to leave multiple mail bombs in Avengers mansion, one of which detonated early and hurt a lot of people. And he forgot to mask his IP, so he's being paid a visit to by our friends the police. They should be outside his door now.

**HINdsIGHtLad: **&$*& you!

**Spinerette: **Bye. Hope you like Rykers :)

**Truther:** This took an unexpected turn...

* * *

Patrolling with Gwen was...interesting. Up until now whenever MJ had put on a costume she did it in the dark of night in some kind of grotty bathroom or a dirty back alley. It wasn't glamorous and it wasn't fun - she did it because she had to, or at least that was what she kept telling herself. Even the costume was lame, something a woman with no budget and not a lot of time on her hands would come up with.

Now she was swinging through the air in the sun side by side with Gwen. The white-clad Spider flipped in a wide arc and did a helix roll, "Come on, Scarlet! Catch up!" She teased loudly. Mary Jane smiled and did a pose of her own before swinging again.

**_'This is torture.'_**

_'Let me have this.' _She spun on a flagpole then swung slow till she could trace her hands across the asphalt. Everyone on the sidewalk turned to look at her as she passed and she felt an all too familiar fluttering in her chest. It was like she was back on stage again with the crowd cheering as she sang. _Oh God_ how she missed it. The music, the attention, the lights and sounds...

Maybe being a Superhero would be just as good.

**_'Don't kid yourself.'_** And the high was gone, **_'You think you can be like her? You'll never have what she has. The adoration, the accomplishments, her boy toy, and especially her _love_.' _**It made a disgusted noise at that, **_'Why not just accept what you are? You're a killer, a powerful one who _enjoys _what she does. No amount of fancy costumes and saving kittens from trees can change that.'_**

_'Except I saved people last night,' _she thought back stonily,_ 'I don't care if you think I can't do this. I'm not gonna stop trying and you can just suck it up because I'm the one with the hands on the controls.'_

**_'Don't get cocky, 'MJ'.'_**

She ignored its growling (whining) and followed Gwen up to the top of a large building, "Race you to the top!" Gwen shouted down at her as she landed on the side and began to run up the wall. MJ grinned and ran up after her. This was crazy. Just a year ago even the thought of being like Gwen - swinging through the air, rushing by boggled eyed crowds and running up walls - was impossible; just jealous daydreams of what it would've been like if she'd been the one to get bitten at that science fair.

And now here she was, racing Gwen up a freaking building.

Gwen made it up first, as expected. Mary Jane sat by her on the edge and just looked at the city. She'd never gotten a view like this before. For the most part she kept low on the streets and tried not to draw attention to herself. Mary Jane took a deep breath and let the cold New York air whip her 'hair' around, "Hmm..." She lowered her mask. She doubted anyone could see them from up here.

**_Up here, with all the people down there as small as ants, she almost forgot about the feeling of blood on her hands._**

"You seem like you're having fun." Gwen leaned back slightly.

"Yeah, it's...it's been a while, actually." She looked down at her open palms and the tips turned to claws, "...You know what I've been doing, Gwen. It's...It hasn't been easy, living with this thing in my head."

"I know. I'm sorry, I should've-"

"You couldn't have done anything." MJ sighed, "Seriously, Gwen, you need to stop blaming yourself for _everything_. You might have superpowers, but you're not God. Sometimes things just fuck up and we have to deal with it."

**_'Is that all I am to you? A 'fuck up'?'_**

_'Don't act like you're offended. You lost that privilege after the fifth night whining about how your mass murderer buddy would've let you eat that guy.'_

**_'He was having a heart attack and he was dead on the spot! He was practically being served to us!'_**

_'...You're gross.'_

**_'And you're too picky'. _**

"Yeah, I know, it's just...Kasady was my responsibility. If I'd been more thorough..." Crimson growled and the skin on her forearms shook. Gwen gave her a worried look, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Crimson whines, but we deal with each other. Have been for a year now."

**_'A year and we've bonded less than Cletus and I had.' _**She couldn't help but notice it didn't say '_my_ Cletus', **_'You resist less, but still resist nonetheless. Why? The boytoy already told you I wasn't lying. Or do you perhaps still hope that somehow we can be separated?'_**

_'No, but one year of tug of war isn't going to be forgotten just because of it. And don't call him that.'_

**_'Why? It's what you want him to be. I've seen into your mind, Little Red. You want him naked and helpless beneath you, his face flushed with embarrassment and want for you. You'll smile as you drag a clawed finger down his chest while Stacy watches and begs to join-_**

_'Shut up, shut up, shut up! For someone who hates it so much you're a real fucking pervo!' _She grit her teeth and tried her best to ignore the deep red blush on her cheeks and the way her heart rate rose.

Unfortunately, Gwen noticed, "MJ, are you okay?" She put a hand on her shoulder and MJ _really_ didn't want it there right now.

"I-I'm fine! Just...having an argument with Crimson. Happens a lot." Technically not a lie, even if Crimson was sing-songing at the back of her head right now. Little turd, "Can we just...do the patrol thing? Is there anything special we do or what?"

"Huh? Oh, no, nothing much. I got a special crime scanner app. You know, from all those crime towers?" Yeah, she'd heard her prof mention about how much of a breach in privacy it was. Mary Jane had to agree, though apparently the statistics of crime decrease panned out so up they stayed. Which reminded her, she had a paper on Safety vs Liberty due in a couple of days...

As if on cue, Gwen's phone beeped, "Mugging. 8 on 1."

"Wait, what? How the fuck does that work? Do they split the 50 bucks and lip gloss 8 ways?"

"Some crims figured that if they were gonna crime it up in the Initiative's head state they might as well come prepared. Really, if they put in this much work on an actual job I'm pretty sure they wouldn't need to do crime, but whatever. Let's go." Mary Jane put on her mask again and jumped down after Gwen.

Many hours later and MJ felt better than she had in days. Fighting crime like a Superhero was different to her nightly excursions. Out there in the daylight with people watching the urge to lop off people's heads or pull their guts out through either ends was...well, it wasn't _gone_, but it was easier to ignore. Surprising how a bunch of watching eyes really took it out of you.

They even ran into a Supervillain. Granted it was just a guy in a bear costume calling himself Grizzly, but he could toss cars and was kinda bulletproof so she counted it. The sun had come down by the time Gwen decided to call it quits.

"That was productive." Gwen stretched her arms above her head and groaned softly. Mary Jane tried not to look at how tightly the suit clung to her toned body, "Wanna head back?"

"Uh...no, I'll keep looking around." Mary Jane's eyes narrowed slightly, "I-I'm not going to do anything like _that_, if that's what you're thinking. I just don't wanna head back yet."

"Well...okay, but make sure to call me if you need anything."

They shared a quick embrace before going their separate ways. Mary Jane sat at the edge of the building and watched Gwen swing past a building out of sight, _**'You need to move on from her.' **_Mary Jane pretended not to hear it, **_'She'll never feel the same way you do about her. Better to steal the boytoy from her.'_**

_'Oh would you shut it?'_

Sighing, Mary Jane stood and swung around aimlessly. It was nighttime now; her element. This was when the dregs came out.

Speaking of...

Two men, one of them holding a knife and the other holding a pistol, knocked someone off a roof into an alley below and screamed something in Russian, _'Don't kill anyone.'_ She swung down and kicked knife guy's arm, breaking it painfully. He screamed and Mary Jane smashed his head against the edge of the short barrier while his buddy scrambled back. Mary Jane webbed his shoulder, the barbed tip digging into the skin painfully, and tugged. The headbutt broke his nose and left his entire face cover in blood.

_'Gotta check on that guy.' _She flipped down and winced at the scent of blood mixed with garbage. Poor bastard fell into the dumpster, "Hey, you breathing?" She peeked over the edge of the bin and her eyes widened.

Matt Murdock. She couldn't see his face underneath that devil mask, but she'd heard Gwen rant about 'the fucker dressed like a devil' enough times to make an educated guess, "What the hell...?" She looked around the area, like she was afraid someone would jump out and tell her she'd been punk'd. Instead it was nothing but complete silence and the smell of bloody garbage.

She was tempted to leave him right then and there. He never did anything to her personally, but solidarity for Peter and Gwen was more than enough reason. He'd made both their lives miserable- hell, he _killed_ Peter. Maybe he hadn't been the one to pull the trigger but those were his men and they were working under his orders.

But was that really his fault? Peter said he'd been possessed by some kind of devil and the world was crazy enough that she honestly believed it. Did being possessed meant you get cut some slack?

Her internal debate was interrupted by a soft, pained groan. Mary Jane stumbled back as Murdock pulled himself over the edge of the bin and landed on the ground face first with a dull smack, "Damn it..." He stunk. He groped the surface of the dumpster and used it to pull himself himself up to a shaky stand. Judging by the way he was leaning on on his left leg it wasn't hard to tell he was still reeling.

Mary Jane almost swung out of there, but then of course she had to open her damn mouth, "You smell."

His mouth split in an amused smirk and he gave her an upwards, sideways glance, "And a hearty hello to you too, Ms. Watson." Her eyes widened underneath her mask and he laughed softly, "I've known who you are for a while now. Don't worry, your secret's safe with. Wouldn't do to make Peter and Ms. Stacy any more cross with me than they already are. My body wouldn't be able to take it."

"Right...what did I just swing into here?" she asked back warily.

"Russian mob. Human traffickers." He stood and adjusted his right elbow with a sickening crack, "There's been a rash of kidnappings lately with Gifted as the target. They took a child earlier and left the father bleeding on the sidewalk."

Mary Jane immediately felt sick to her stomach. Kidnapping and human trafficking was bad enough, but a child on top of that? "You were trying to save him?"

"Yes, but I suppose I overestimated my state of health." He looked up, "Two faint heartbeats above...thank you for leaving them alive. I need to interrogate them. They're my only shot at tracking the rest of the group. Have a safe evening."

"H-Hey wait a second!" She stood in front of him, "You can't just tell me a little kid got kidnapped and expect me to leave it! I'm coming with you."

"That's hardly necessary-"

"I wasn't asking."

His smirk widened and he laughed again, "I see you've picked up some things from Spider-Woman. Very well then, Ms. Watson, let's be partners."

"We're not partners. I'm doing this for that kid...and it's Scarlet Spider."

"Oh? My apologies then."

Five minutes later and she was standing back and watching the Devil of Hell's Kitchen drive a knife down someone's face,**_ 'We should get in on that,' _**Crimson groused. Mary Jane ignored it, **_'Come on, don't tell me you're scared of hurting them! You broke their bones earlier and they're part of the deserving!' _**

Thankfully she didn't have to argue before the mobster squealed. Murdock put the blood knife away and left him knocked out and bound next to his unconscious buddy, "Good news and bad news. Good news is it's not far from here. Bad news is they've reinforced their men ever since Striker and her friend disrupted the operation down at the docks. It won't be easy to get to the child."

"That's what I'm here for." She raised her right hand and sharpened her fingers.

"Indeed. I would've been, to quote you youngsters, 'up shit's creek' without your aid." She rolled her eyes. Guy probably wasn't even 40 so he could screw off with that 'I'm old and seen it all' bs, "Let's split up then. According to our unconscious friend here the bulk of their men will be converged on the lower floor. I'll sneak into the top and take care of the few sentries stationed there while you deal with the rest."

"Sure you can handle it, garbage man?"

"If I can't then you'll be right behind me."

The trip to the building was mercifully quiet and by the time she was on the front door she'd braced herself for what she was about to do. It wasn't her first time doing something like this, but she had to remind herself again not to kill anyone. These bastards hadn't escaped the law before like the rest of her targets and they'd already called the cops on the two goons they left back there. These bastards deserved a jail cell.

She kicked the door down and was immediately met with a barrage of gunfire. She made a wall of symbiotic mass and the bullets stuck harmlessly to the surface. She knew it was wrong, but a part of her still couldn't help but relish at how more _powerful_ she was than them. They might as well have been throwing spitballs from those pistols of theirs for how effective it was.

Fighting them was easy. Mary Jane grabbed the closest goon and used him him as a bludgeon against a group of clustered gunmen. They screamed and cursed in Russian and kept firing. Mary Jane grabbed a table and threw it at another before jumping to the farthest one and smashing his head against the ground. She wouldn't _kill_ them, but that didn't mean she had to be a soft touch.

A few minutes later about 20 men were left in varying states of pain and she was making her way up the stairs. Murdock was either taking the kid already or he was dead, 'We didn't kill a single person.' Crimson groused again, 'You're getting soft.'

_'They get one shot to be in prison and take it like men.'_

**_'And if they don't?'_**

_'There's a reason I made that DB subscription...and not just cause Norah asked me to.' _

Mary Jane opened the door just in time to see Murdock punch a guy to the wall and trip over one of the unconscious bodies to the other. The redhead raised a brow and looked over the hallway. Eight unconscious men, some of them with pistols and shotguns. Considering the state she found him in she couldn't help but be impressed. Slightly. Just a tad.

Murdock walked out of the room, shaky and slow, and made his way to the to the door at the end of the hallway. Mary Jane followed behind him and put a hand on his shoulder, "Maybe I should handle this? You aren't exactly an angel right now."

"Devil jokes are cliche, Scarlet Spider." And then, before she could say anything else, he pulled off his cracked and damaged mask and handed it to her before opening the door.

The room made her insides churn with disgust. It was small with no hint of light to seep into the room and the child was curled up scared in a corner. He was definitely someone who'd been hit by the Mist. His skin was light blue and his eyes were wide and black with no hint of of a white sclera. His clothes damaged and had traces of blood, likely from struggling.

Murdock knelt in front of the boy and he shrunk back, "Hi. I know you're scared, but I'm here to help. Okay?" The eyes shifted from him to Mary Jane and she lowered her mask too and smiled reassuringly, "You don't have to be scared anymore."

"O...Okay."

He nodded and Murdock picked him up with his good arm. Mary Jane put her mask back on and tossed Matt his so he could do the same, "What do we do now?" Mary Jane whispered.

"We'll take him to his father then they can testify. Karen will make sure they get the time they deserve."

Before she knew it the police and ambulances were there. She and Murdock stood on the roof opposite the building and looked down as the father, still banked up but standing tall, hugged his son tightly with tears in his eyes. They couldn't stay. Technically they were still vigilantes with none of the fancy Avengers or Initiative perks. Better

"Well, this was a productive evening." Murdock hummed, "But I'm afraid I've pushed myself to my limit. It'll take...days of rest at the very least before I'll be lucid enough to put on the mask again."

"...Why did you do it?"

"Hm?"

"All this. You aren't seriously going to tell me it was out of the good of your heart, are you?"

"If I did would you believe me?" She didn't reply, "Does it really matter when it comes down to it? Human traffickers are going to prison and a child had a heartwarming reunion with his father. Seems like a victory to me."

"...I don't trust you."

"I didn't say you should. Healthy distrust is the pinnacle of many a cautious individual." He stood and took a deep breath, "But I really must go before I collapse right here. See you around, Scarlet Spider." Murdock clapped her shoulder and left. She didn't bother to turn around and just continued to look down below.

* * *

**JasonVoorhes13: **Just got saved by Spider-Woman and Scarlet Spider!

**BirdWatcherzyx:** Wait, didn't you get kidnapped and stuffed in the back of a trunk?!

**JasonVoorhes13:** Still worth it!

**NoobMaster69: **Lucky! Wish I could get saved by two smoking hot heroes...

**PeterGriffon**: Didn't you get saved by Spider-Man at that amusement park a year go?

**NoobMaster69: **Yeah, but he ain't hot...

**No1SManFan:** Speak for yourself. Have you _seen_ that butt?! Those pants can't hide perfection! :3

**FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman:** Please stop perving on my boyfriend. And I hope you're okay, **JasonVoorhes13**. Next time avoid fake lottery scams, please.

**No1SMManFan:** Spider-Woman, please convince him to wear spandex! Then I can die happy!

**FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman: **Just gonna ignore that too...

* * *

Seeing Gobby again was weird. The last time they'd seen each other was months ago before he went back to Oscorp fully and finally decided that the vigilante gig wasn't for him. Personally she still thought he got off just a little too easy considering the crap he pulled, but the fact that the infected were cured softened the blow. Sure, it didn't erase the people the Lizards killed or Doc Connors murdering his wife and losing his child, but it was...something.

There hadn't been any last goodbyes or anything. Gobby said he was going back to Oscorp, she said 'sure' and that was the end of that. She did keep tabs on him for a while to make sure he actually was doing that. Last she checked he was working on the science division, trying to help the environment by figuring out how to dispose plastic or lower the smoke pollution output of cars. A noble pursuit, all things considered.

"Ah, Cind- uh, I mean-"

"No need for that, Mr. Osborn. I just revealed my identity before we got here." She would've thought the lack of a scarf made that obvious, "Me and Officer De Wolfe are here to take you and Ms. Brock's statement on the robbery?"

"Oh, yes." The woman, a young blonde with glasses and a business suit, stood up and shook their hands. They'd chosen to meet at one of the empty Osborn Offices rooms while forensics scanned through the stuff they found at the lab, "We hope you can help us. Some of the stolen materials were very valuable and crucial to our research."

"That's what we're here for, ma'am." De Wolfe nodded and took out a notepad. At least one other person wasn't stuck to those Upad thing, "Please tell us everything you can recall about the incident."

"Well, me and Harry were working out late on one of our projects when this...bird thing crashed through the wall." Elsa shuddered, "It was...quite a shock."

"Did either of you get a look at the attacker's face?" Cindy asked.

"N-No, I was knocked into the ground when it happened," Elsa said.

"I did, but...I'm not sure how to describe it,," Harry said. De Wolfe turned her attention to him, "The guy was old. Not as old as Adrian Toomes, but definitely up there in years. Brown hair, brown eyes and wrinkled skin. It was his mouth that got my attention. He had these...they looked like fleshy mandibles on the sides of his lower lip."

"Mandibles? Think he got hit with the Terrigen?" De Wolfe asked Cindy.

"Maybe, but eyewitness reports said he still had the harness so I'm not counting on him being pure powers." Cindy crossed her arms, "Did you get a good look at his tech? Anything that might come to mind?"

"N-Nothing much. It was kind of blurry and I couldn't make out anything specific on it aside from the color. Red and black," Elsa said. Cindy had to resist the urge to make a joke on said color scheme, "I have to assume given the explosion that he carried handheld explosives."

"Fornesics did find some metal that might have been casing. Still trying to determine that," De Wolfe said, "Could you tell us what he stole specifically? It could be useful in tracking him down."

"The lab equipment was the most valuable part. I made a list earlier. Here." He handed the sheet to Cindy and she scanned through it quickly, "Apart from that he took some acid we were tweaking so it can melt down plastics in the ocean and then disperse harmlessly. In the current state it's in right now it's still dangerous and potent."

"Great, we've got a bird man running around with acid." Cindy rubbed her forehead and sighed, "How much did he take?"

"About five gallons, but in its raw state even a few ounces is dangerous."

"Double great..."

They asked a few more questions - likely suspects and the like - before Elsa and Jean left to go get some coffee, leaving her alone with Gobby. Cindy sat on the nearby chair and looked through her notes. So far everything pointed to it being a hired job. Maybe Vulture guy would sell it on the black market? She could contact Felicia and have her run through her contacts to see if they knew anything.

"It's...good to see you again."

"You...you too." Wasn't the whole truth, but wasn't a lie either. She felt...neutral about him, "Good to see you're doing something worthwhile with your time."

"Yeah, it's been...odd going into science. Last time I did it was with Pete." And with her evil twin when she infected those innocent people, but she didn't say that out loud. Why ruin the moment? "I still can't believe you're working with the cops."

"Pays the bills." She shrugged.

"I thought you got paid by Tony Stark-"

"It was a joke, Gobby." He stopped flinching at the nickname now, "So, is there anything you wanna add to your testimony?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean if you and Ms. Elsa there did something you don't want the cops to know."

"How could you- no, I don't have anything to add. I know you still have your doubts, but I'm trying to make up for what I did; and that includes no breaking the law. Everything we had, including the acid, was bought through legal means. I just...I want to make up for what I did."

"Fine. I believe you." She shrugged, "What's the story with the blonde?"

"Elsa? She's worked with Oscorp straight out of college. A young up and comer by the looks of her." He wrung his hands without noticing. A tell.

"So...you two sleeping together?"

"Cindy!"

"What? Just a question." She rolled her eyes. She thought Gobby, of all people, wouldn't be a prude considering they already saw each other naked, "It's good that you're getting into a relationship. Our mutual friend's worried about you."

"She shouldn't be. She has enough on her plate, especially with him back in town." Yeah, she was pretty sure Pete still hated him, "And if you must know, yes, me and Elsa are dating. I'm...I'm worried about her. She's been shaken up ever since this entire thing."

"Not surprised. Not every day a Birdman comes in and steals your acid."

A pair of footsteps came up to the door and, surprise surprise, it wasn't either Jean or Elsa, "Harry, Ms. Moon." Norman Osborn went inside smoothly and closed the door behind him.

"Dad." Gobby nodded somewhat stiffly. He didn't hate his dad anymore - it took some real cojones to claim that while working for the dude's company - but that didn't mean he liked him. Cindy just tried not to get in the middle of it, "What are you doing here?"

"Just checking in. I'd heard through the grapevine that Ms. Moon was the one interviewing you." He stuck his hand out, "Pleasure to see you again."

"You too, Mr. Osborn." Cindy smiled back, less stiff than his son. She actually liked the elder Osborn, mostly cause he didn't hold her spying on him for S.H.I.E.L.D against her. Apparently he considered her pushing Gobby to give up his bs crusade to be more than enough payment, which was nice of him, "We won't be here long. I'm just waiting for Jean to come back then we'll see about getting this break-in finished."

"Oh yes, this copycat of Adrian. I didn't think anyone would imitate his madness."

"Adrian...you knew the Vulture?"

"Oh, yes. He worked in this company for decades...I have no idea what pushed him to such a state." According to Pete he was just like the former Peter Parker - someone who saw all the shiny people in costumes and decided to break bad (sounded like a cool idea for a show, actually), "Well, if you need any aid then please don't hesitate to ask. Harry and I both owe you a personal debt, after all."

"You don't owe me anything. I did spy on you, after all." She and Harry shared a wry smile and she shrugged.

"Yes, well, S.H.I.E.L.D is now defunct - officially - so many of those contracts technically no longer apply." He coughed politely, "Speaking of, have you thought about my previous offer?"

Oh yeah, his suggestion that she work as Oscorp's sponsored hero. Technically She-Hulk worked for the EEW - Entertainment and Engagement Wrestling, cause _of course_ it was - and Wasp represented Dyne Corp, so it wasn't actually against the rules. She heard that Donald Roxxon was representing his own company officially in a week and Tony Stark was also considering it. She'd put in her suggestion for Iron Man, but he refused. Apparently he found the name 'kinda basic'. Pfft.

"Oh, that's still a thing? I was kinda assuming that you only said that cause you wanted me to stop spying on you."

"Well, yes, but the offer is still applicable. I won't lie: the positive publicity you would bring is worth more than any price."

"Even if I asked for a bajillion dollars?" she asked back with a teasing smile, "Look, it's a real tempting offer, but I am kinda helping the police right now. Don't really have time to start being a mascot."

"You wouldn't have to quit your current career course. I'm perfectly fine with the occasional appearance at your convenience. As I said, the association is more than worth it."

"Well...I'll think about it, okay? Just lemme solve this case first."

Hours later and she and Jean were at a bar along with a few other police officers (even Masters, much to her dismay). Jean had invited her out and commented that getting to go out and get sauced with other officers was one of the new benefits of the open identity. Cindy just shrugged and went along with it. She wasn't going to say no to drinking with company. It got tiring drinking corner store beer all by her lonesome.

"So lemme get this straight. You're from another dimension?" Wilson asked. The officers were _real _interested about that

"Yeah." She shrugged and drank her tequila mix. Bit stronger than what she was used to, but hey, "I think I know your kid, actually. Her name's Liz, right?"

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"Just a guess." She smirked, "Anyway, I was classmates with a Liz Allan. Blonde girl, super popular, hung out with the jocks." She was also classmates with Peter Parker and Jessica Cambel nee Jones, a.k.a Coma Girl. Odd how some of the ages fluctuated.

"You sure that's my girl? She was a goth for all of high school."

"Alternate dimensions. What can ya do?" She shrugged lightly.

"Anyone else here you know?" Ben Grimm asked.

"Funny you should ask that, Mr. Baby Blues." _God_ those eyes were amazing. Such a shame Alicia Masters was blind in this universe too, "Back home you, Benjamin Jacob Grimm, are a superhero."

That got her a wave of guffaws, "Oh you're shittin' me! Benjy was a superhero?"

"Yep. The Ever-lovin' blue eyed Thing. You, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm and Reed Richards went on a rocket and got bathed in cosmic rays and got superpowers." That got her some disbelieving snorts, "Hey, it's true! I couldn't make this crap up if I tried! You were part of the Fantastic 4, saving the world in snappy blue jumpsuits. I even had one of your plushies at my bunker."

"Wait, bunker? What, did your place have a nuclear apocalypse?" The question was asked by Detective Walter Bolt. Young, light red hair and someone who definitely hit the gym. Definitely someone she wanted to know better.

"No, that's...that's a bit of a long story." She swirled her tequila and took a deep breath. Her therapist did say talking about it helped, "So when I got my powers things weren't the greatest. I was shooting webs everywhere and I almost had to drop out of school...then I got put into a bunker for 10 years."

She told them everything. Ezekiel, the training her put her through, the bunker...everything but her family's death. She didn't care what Dr. Margolis said, some things were better kept to herself and the people she was closest to. The mood at the counter had gotten far more somber and she immediately felt bad for dragging everyone down.

Then Masters opened his big mouth again.

"Come on, you honestly believe this shit?" He scoffed. He was amazingly lucid considering how much he drank, "Alternate dimensions? Grimm's a superhero? Ten years in a fucking fallout shelter? She's pulling shit outta her ass!"

"You'd know, wouldn't you? You've been staring at it all night." De Wolfe snorted.

And just like that the light atmosphere returned. She almost wanted to thank the jerk for fixing things. Almost, "Aww, I'm flattered, Masters, but I'm not into racist dicks." She blew him a kiss and then, before she could save herself the embarrassment, smacked her butt. Jean and Walter laughed loudly while Master's face turned red and he muttered something unintelligible into his drink. Five bucks 'Freak' was used at least twice.

The rest of the time was spent with far more lighthearted stories and soon enough she was being helped back to her place by Detective Bolt. He'd drunk remarkably less than everyone else and Cindy was only mildly intoxicated despite the the multiple tequila shots. Spider powers and all.

He helped her to her apartment and dropped her at her couch, "Nice place." He whistled, impressed. She was too busy looking at that very form-fitting shirt of his, "Guess being an Avenger pays, huh?"

"Sometimes." She leaned back and smiled up at him lopsidedly.

"Well, I should probably get back..." He looked down at her flush, sweaty neck and blushed. Cute, "Uh...I'll see you at work tomorrow."

"Or...you could stay." She traced her fingers up his hand to his wrist, "Bed's big enough for two."

"I...I wouldn't wanna take advantage."

"Trust me, I am not _nearly _drunk enough for you to take advantage. If I was I would've been going for Masters." She faked a gagging sound at that while Walter smiled slightly, "Unless you don't find me attractive? Is it the scars?" she asked, just the right amount of coy innocent. Those seduction lessons from Agent Romanoff came in useful now and then.

"N-No, I do find you attractive! And you look beautiful, scars or no." Wow, the guy was sweet. Natural charmer he was, "It's just...I wanna be sure that _you're_ sure and-" She kissed him, sloppy and deep, and he returned the gesture. Jackpot.

Hours later and she woke up with only a mild hangover. Cindy sat up and stretched her arms above her head. Walter slept peacefully net her and she let out a satisfied hum. _Way_ better than a grindr hook up. Rubbing her eyes, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed and picked up the first thing she could - his shirt - and draped it over herself as she went out into the kitchen.

She was only mildly surprised to find Shadowcat sitting at the table and helping herself to some leftover pizza, "Hey there, Kitty, make yourself at home," Cindy snarked. She picked up some aspirin and drank it quickly, "Don't suppose you're here to tell me you're planning to be the sister Laura needs?"

"Hardly. Munchkin's already attached to ya, so you can forget about her letting go anytime soon." Shadowcat snorted, "Actually ran into a friend a' yours in Madripoor and apparently he wanted to meet. Something about his friends being kidnapped."

"Which friend?"

She didn't get any sort of warning before a plume of bluish smoke appeared in front of her and the smell of sulfur wafted up her nostrils. Cindy coughed and the smoke was quickly dispelled with a blue, fuzzy figure stood in his place.

Kurt Wagner smiled somewhat awkwardly and raised a hand in greeting, "Good evening, _fräulein_. I need your help."

* * *

**BestCopInNYC: **Just had a drink with Spinerette and the rest of the squad. She's got a lot of stories. Apparently she came from another dimension?

**PonyHead:** Haha, I knew it! Pay up you losers!

**FactChannelIntern:** Think she'd be willing to do an interview? If I get one my boss is gonna flip!

**AlsoTheBestCopInNYC:** Some of the things she told us was trippy...and sad. Could you imagine losing ten years of your life stuck in one room?

**MatrixRebooted**: Doesn't seem so bad. I didn't leave my room for 7 years. Who cares when you have internet?

**AlsoTheBestCopInNYC: **She didn't have internet.

**MatrixRebooted: **Oh...she has my deepest condolences.

**BestCopInNYC:** Walter went with her. Ten bucks says he got lucky.

**GGlol500**: Wait, isn't she gay?

**BestCopInNYC:** Sure, if you count her practically undressing Walter as gay. Walter's a dude, by the way.

**GGlol500:** Doh. That pride parade's gonna be awkward...

* * *

Peter punched Bullseye in the face. Hard.

The bald psychopath stumbled back the same time Peter did. He looked down at the knife in his gut and pulled it out with a light hiss. Hellfire...Bullseye took his knife, "Damn it..." He focused on making the bleeding stop while Bullseye laughed and wiped his bloody nose. If he was bothered by his now-broken nose he didn't show it, "What the hell did you do...?"

"I stabbed you. Thought that'd be obvious, kid." Bullseye grinned smarmily and shrugged without a care. It was the same way he looked after getting one too many drinks, "Nice knfie, by the way. Very pointy."

He tossed more blades at him. Peter ran and hid behind the closest pillar, trying to ignore the pain in his mid-section. He couldn't fight like this, "What the hell happened to you?" He unsheathed is pistol and shut his eyes briefly. Could he really shoot Bullseye?

"You just said it twice: Hell. Lemme tell ya, it's a real bitch down there!" Peter ran to the other pillar and fired two warning shots at Bullseye's feet, "Aww, holding back? That ain't the kid I remember." Peter hid behind another pillar just as more knives almost hit his back, "If you're curious, the Hand brought me back. You know, those ninjas we spent the past year killin'?"

"They brought you back..." White-hot burning rage engulfed his insides. He was going to bury every single one of them.

"Yup! New and improved!"

A knife bounced from the floor and his spider-sense just barely managed to warn him. Peter side-stepped and the knife skidded past his thigh, drawing blood, "Come on, kid!" Bullseye charged towards him and Peter dodged his frenzied slashes before covering him in a net of webbing.

"Really, that's the best ya can do?" He tore through the webs easily, "Should probably tell ya I ain't really alive. It's kind of a funny in-between thing that's a work in progress, so those fancy web of yours ain't gonna do any good. Ya wanna put me down you're gonna have to work for it."

Another barrage of knives. Peter side-stepped the blades and raised his hand to his bleeding cheek. Damn Hellfire was making him slow, "I don't want to hurt you." Bullseye charged towards him and punched Peter right after throwing another couple of knives. The hit landed on the Hellfire wound and Peter fell to the floor on his knees, "...Last chance, Bullseye. Please."

"Aww, how sweet." Bullseye tugged his mask off and pulled grabbed Peter's hair to make him face up, "Well, if you don't wanna fight maybe I should go visit that girlfriend of yours? Nah, she's too strong. How about little old Lana? I'm sure she'll bleed real pretty.

Peter punched Bullseye in the gut and disappeared, "Ohh, hidin' again?" He thew another knife close to where he was. Peter appeared in front of him and punched him in his broken nose before disappearing again, "You're still holdin' back! Come on, where's the killer I fell in love with! Stab that knife into me! Blow my brains out! You know you want to!"

A gunshot rang out. Bullseye fell to his knees and blood pooled out of his left kneecap, "There he is." He looked up and grinned a bloodstained smile as Peter reappeared with a pistol aimed at his forehead, "Oh, this is perfect. This was how it should've ended the first time! Better than that bastard Murdock being the one to do me in."

"Speaking of, here's one thing I'm curious about: why is he still alive?" His grip on the pistol became shaky, "I definitely remember that bastard havin' us dead to rights and you beggin' for my life. I didn't hear any promises of revenge, but that was implied. So now you're, what, buddy buddy with him? He's my replacement, huh? You got shit taste, kid."

He should've pulled the trigger right then and there. Bullseye tossed something to the floor and a bright flash engulfed the entirety of the subway. Peter shook his head and by the time his vision had cleared again Bullseye was gone damn it, "Damn it..." He punched the ground and growl. Blood trail led to the tracks, but he wasn't in any state to go after him.

...He needed to talk to Page.

It took hours to find her. Page wasn't an easy person to talk to when she didn't summon you first. Peter entered the library, one hand nursing his still searing wound, and walked slowly towards the table. Page sat alone, her legs crossed and a cup of tea in her hand. He wanted to smack it to the floor and scream in her face, but that would've ended with him in two pieces on the floor.

Page looked up and smiled when she saw him. He stopped in his tracks. It wasn't the cold, calculating one she always sported. This one was soft and unsure. Sincere, "Oh, Peter...I wasn't expecting you." She set her cup of tea down and gestured to the other seat opposite her, which he took after some reluctance, "Ruth's expecting a visitor later, but we can chat till she comes back. I rarely get a chance to talk alone."

"You're...Karen Page? The real one?"

"Guilty as charged." She held up both hands in mock surrender and laughed softly, "I'm sorry if I'm being kinda weird. It's been a while since I didn't have Ruth with me."

"You're...different than I imagined." He almost forgot about Bullseye. Almost.

"Ooh, and what _did_ you think of me, Spider-Man?" Her smile was wider now, mischievous almost. It looked odd on her...and yet bizarrely fitting in a way, "Did you think I was some conniving puppetmaster like Ruth was?"

"Honestly...yes."

"Yeah, well, I don't blame you. She's very...in control." That was one word for it, sure, "I know it doesn't mean much, but I'd like to apologize for the way she treated you. Ruth means well, she's just...she's lived millenias without really talking to people. Ruth's an angel of judgement. She only sees people at their worst so her bond with people is...strained. I'm her first human host in God only knows how long."

"...How did you get together with her?"

"Desperation, mostly. Love too. Me and Matt were together for a few years in college and I thought he was a good man underneath. Cliche, I know, but I was young." Her smile faltered, "When Ruth offered me a deal I took it. Of course that was before I realized she came with all those rules. Ugh, angels and demons; they both screw you with the fine print."

"So why are you still together? The Beast is dead and Matt's...alive." He tried to ignore Bullseye's biting question.

"Because she's doing good, and...I think she needs me." She smiled sadly, "Ruth is a good person; she just doesn't understand the people she's supposed to protect. I'm helping her with that. I'm sure I'll be long dead before I can make any milestones, but even an inch is good enough for me."

"You're fine living your life like this?"

"She doesn't keep me prisoner in my own body, if that's what you think. When we're together...Ruth changes me, but I also change her. The Ruth I know wouldn't have made homeless shelters and she wouldn't have hesitated to kill anyone she considers guilty. Besides, we all make sacrifices. You and Gwen give so much of yourselves for this city."

"That's different."

"I don't think so." She paused and said her next words slowly, "I know you have good reason to hate Matt, but I do still think he has goodness in him. Please take care of him for me."

She leaned forward and squeezed his hand with a reassuring smile. Peter was about to respond before her grip suddenly slackened and she picked up her cup of tea again, "Page." She wasn't Karen anymore. The blonde took a sup of her tea, "...You knew about Bullseye."

"Yes." Flat and measured. Karen really was gone, "I assume by your state you fought him."

"You could say that." He grit his teeth, "That deal you gave me-"

"Still applies," she interrupted coldly, "I told you beforehand that I could pluck his soul from his well deserved damnation. If you kill him now then he will enter purgatory. It will not save him from damnation completely, but it will give him a chance to alter his fate."

"You could've told me he was alive."

"Irrelevant. His soul is in a state of flux right now, so he's not the friend you know. If you wish to be sentimental about this then let Matthew face him for you. I'm sure he'll be more than willing to finish what he started."

"...I dunno what Karen sees in you."

Her eyes narrowed by just the smallest amount, "I see things objectively. That man has cost the lives of hundreds of innocents in his hubris. He deserved his damnation and my offer to rescind his well-earned fate is more than generous." She set her cup down, "Now, if there's nothing else you wish to talk about please leave. I have a meeting with an old friend and I doubt you wish to meet her."

Peter stood and just barely held back his scowl. Growling at her wouldn't do any good. He was halfway across the length of the library when she called out, "I suggest you rest for the next few days. That wound requires healing."

He made his way back to Gwen's place. She was already digging into a pizza with the symbiote nibbling on some chocolate nearby, "Hey, Pete, how's it-" Her eyes widened when she caught sight of the dried blood on his shirt and she immediately rushed towards him. She led him to the couch slowly and set him down before sitting next to him, "What happened?"

He was almost tempted to keep it to himself and just warn Lana. It was his problem, not hers, "It's..."

She cupped his cheek with her right hand and made him face her, "Talk to me."

He did. Peter told her everything. She just listened patiently and held him close when his voice became shaky at the end. It was only now that it finally sunk in. Bullseye, the man who'd given up everything for him and died in agony, was back as nothing more than a weapon for the Hand. He was angry, but more than that he was sad. He didn't deserve this.

"I'm sorry." Gwen hugged him tightly. He closed his eyes and returned the gesture, ignoring the pain in his gut, "I wish I could do more."

"Being here's enough..."

"If I run into him I'll take him down. I can't help him, but we can stop him from hurting you or anyone else."

"Yeah..." He suddenly realized how exhausted he was. Peter closed his eyes and let Gwen's warmth lull him into a comfortable sleep. Maybe he'd get lucky and this would all be just a bad dream.

* * *

**HardSoftHitter: **So real talk, what do you think Spider-Woman sees in Spider-Man? You'd think she'd go after someone like Hawkeye or something instead of the vigilante killer.

**GrayHatHackerDude:** Yo so we're all just gonna forget that Spider-Woman was a vigilante for a while there? Not surprised she goes for another vigilante.

**HardSoftHitter:** Yeah, but she never killed anyone 'cept that Carnage Killer fucker. Spider-Man's a killer, plain and simple.

**JCJensen:** So are the rest of the Avengers. Main difference is they've got government backing, and considering what we found out about SHIELD I'm not convinced they're much better.

**HardSoftHitter:** So you like a vigilante running around deciding who lives and dies?

**JCJensen:** No, but every person he ended up killing had a rap sheet a mile wide and he killed fucking demon in Times Square. I think he gets some more leeway than the guy who was running around killing homeless people.

**Braidmaniac:** Holy shit, a guy's actually doing that?! I thought that was a joke!

**JCJensen:** _Was_ doing that. Spider-Man ran into him earlier and broke his arms. Again, leeway.

**EPFrog:** Kinda agree with **HardSoftHitter**. I think she'd be better with someone else.

**No1SMManFan: **Agreed, leave some of that man meat for the rest of us. I bet he's little spoon :3

**SpiderWomanMadeMeDoThis:** First time I log on and this is the first thing I see. Already regretting this tweeter thing...

* * *

**Before anyone starts panicking: MJ and Matt interacting doesn't mean they're endgame pairing. I was going to have them interact regardless due to them both struggling with morality and having been possessed by monsters, which should allow them some juicy interactions. Also helps that Matt didn't spend all of V1 trolling MJ so she's less likely to be snippy and impatient with him.**

**I'm kinda wondering if people are gonna ship Matt/Karen more now that we saw a glimpse of what the real Karen Page is like. Probably not considering Karuth is still the main entity in control but you never know.**

**Questions:**

**1\. Big question: I'm considering making a prequel oneshot with Moon Knight as the lead during his fight against Murdock. It'd have a very Gotham vibe and I can show off some different characters like a young and active George Stacy, 10 year old Peter and Gwen, 13 year old Felicia Hardy, Evil Cindy when she still worked for SHIELD, a much more egotistical and fashionista Wasp, Wilson Fisk during his height as the Kingpin, and an evil, pre-possession Matt. **

**Would you guys be interested in this? I am but I'd like to hear you guys' thoughts.**

**2\. What do you guys think of Peter and Cindy's current personalities? I'm not planning to change them, but I wonder if you guys like Noir being (relatively) nicer and more open. Ditto Cindy being less childish and turning into an older, more cynical and even sometimes seductive character. This is pretty different from how people know them in canon.**

**Cindy especially since a friend commented that she seemed more like Felicia given her recent behavior.**

**3\. Does anyone think Gwen's relationship with Peter makes her a tad hypocritical given that she's a straight laced hero dating an anti-hero? It reminds me of some readers criticizing Spidey for webbing up purse snatchers but letting Felicia run free with at most a slight reprimand. **

**Review Answers:**

**DigitalEmperor001 - That's kinda like masturbation, dude.**

**Raw Prodigy - Noir isn't meant to be a god any more than regular Spidey is.**

**Tomkatan - Insecure isn't the word I'd use. This is a fanfic, after all, and I've been open from the start about reader input.**

**Brave2000 - Phobos seems too overpowered for a street setting. Luke Cage is topping the list currently.**

**Guest 1 - Hope you enjoyed Cindy's segment this chapter.**

**Guest 2 - Shipping is a weird thing. I'm not really surprised by people shipping it, just the _amount _of people doing so.**

**Angry naptime - MJ's living situation has nothing to do with the possible threesome. They meet each other frequently regardless. **

**Noisy-Cricket - Lana doesn't literally have Neon powers. She's an Inhuman, not a Conduit. She doesn't need to recharge. Also, ethereal spider arms just seem a tad too edgy and needless considering the Hellfire knife.**

**Titan616 - By V2 cardoard prison is ceasing to be a thing and all the Avengers enjoy support from Starktech and Dynecorp, which means keeping loved ones safe is far less of a hassle. Also, I wonder if you still consider it creepy after seeing Karen here.**

**Guest ch15 - Maybe 65-Thanos was a good guy and he died when he used the Infinity Gauntlet to double all the resources in the universe? :)**

**Yo. 789 - Too late for Noir/Lana. She's firmly stuck in the little sister role.**

**Toleto Jim - Luke Cage is definitely a shoe in.**

**A Flying Tomato - Noir is already very similar to Kaine. Except for size cause this Noir's a midget.**

**Poke-em-with-the-pointy-end - Thanks for the compliment :) As for personal experience...mind sharing or is it too personal? **

**Chillmango - Uh...I don't read Skullduggery Pleasant and any similarities to Noir and Lana are coincidence.**


	17. Another, another dimension(Mayday Omake)

**Spider-Girl/Mayday Parker omake/side-story for Nerdman3000 as a thank you for his constant help like making the cover page, a tvtropes page and forum troubles. It was supposed to be a oneshot but since I wanted more extensive interactions between the cast and Mayday I ended up splitting it into a two-shot. **

**This is technically 'canon' for the fic despite being an omake since it takes place after the end of the last chapter. OTOH if you don't like it this two-parter is more or less self contained and can be skipped with little issue. If you do like Spider-Girl, then I hope you like this as well :)**

**Not sure if the next chapter will be part 2 or not. Depends on where my mood takes me and how the audience likes this one. **

**Side Note - The choice for Peter's power ups is kinda complicated so I'll make a poll after posting this chapter. There you can choose which power-up you want him to have - Web-swinging/wall-crawling, more scientific/magical/demonic gadgets or more mystical abilities (someone suggested shadow spider legs devil trigger). **

* * *

"This is the place..."

May 'Mayday' Parker, better known to the city at large as Spider-Girl, crouched at the edge of the building and looked down at the 'abandoned' warehouse. Doctor Octopus - sometimes known as Lady Octopus for those who knew the original Doc Ock - was using it as a base for her nefarious evildoings. According to the scattered witness testimonies she managed to catch a 'buncha metal arms' were seen around the area and from there it wasn't hard to narrow down where she was staying.

"What are you doing here, doc...?" She jumped and swung to the side wall of the warehouse and crawled up slowly. The last time Mayday'd run into the tentacled woman was when she and Canis were making a power play for the criminal underworld. Turned out she was working for Black Tarantula, but somehow she was in bed - hopefully not literally, cause gross - with the would-be wolf man again. At the very least that was what she figured considering they broke out of prison together about 4 days ago.

Her phone beeped and she answered it without looking at the screen, "Kinda busy here," she whispered.

"Where are you?" Darkdevil's all too familiar baritone came from the other end.

"Just about to ruin Lady Octopus and Canis' jailbreak honeymoon." She flipped inside through a slightly ajar window and landed on a high shelf with a quiet crouch. Place was dark and abandoned, but she her spider-sense was thrumming. They were here, "Listen, I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Wait, I'm on my way over-"

Her phone suddenly died. Mayday looked down at the suddenly black screen and furrowed her brows. Yep, that was _totally_ normal. She put it back into her webshooter compartment - _Thank you, Normie_ \- and flipped down to the floor, "Hmm..." Spider-sense was leading her to the left. She knelt down and traced the faint marks on the floor. Twenty bucks said secret door.

"Come on, come on. Secret door, come to mama..." Mayday traced the lines to the end when she saw the slightly raised edge. She grinned, "Jackpot." She lifted it up slowly and quietly and jumped up to the ceiling of the staircase leading downwards. Just needed to get Ock and Canis back to prison then make it back home before dad got worried and April used it to needle her again.

The stairs led to a sealed metal door. Mayday shot a line of webbing and yanked it back only for the door to fall down to the ground, "Crap!" She webbed it up before it could crash down and left it hanging inches from hitting the ground, "Too close." She continued to crawl through the hallway and stopped when she heard two voices - a loud man and a calm woman - talking. Canis and Ock.

Mayday peeked over the empty doorframe. The room inside was huge and circular, easily able to fit dozens of people with room to spare. At the center of the room was a large, circular device made out of a mesh of metal and disjointed wiring. Her eyes traced the path of the large, bulky wires attached to multiple power boxes on the walls. That'd probably explain the frequent blackouts.

And then there were the two occupants.

"I don't see the point of this plan." Canis leaned forward on his chair with a scowl. He was lacking his usual suit combo in favor of a hoodie and a pair of jeans and muddy boots. It looked odd on him.

"I've already explained it multiple times, dear Canis. If you don't 'see the point' that's hardly my fault." Doc Ock crooned (ick). Unlike Canis she looked to be in tip top shape: same green jumpsuit, same tentacles, same bad haircut. She didn't even turn to look at Canis' seething haunch and continued to tweak with the machine, humming a tune casually as she did.

"Yes, and this plan - if you can even call it that - is utter stupidity." Canis growled, "I understand we need resources, but-"

"But what? Do you have any secret vaults full of gold that the authorities haven't raided yet? If so, please do tell!" Canis seethed and said nothing, "That's what I thought. You wish to take over the criminal underworld again? Then you need resources, resources that we cannot take here because if either of us take so much as a single step outside we'll have all those Avengers brats on us. Or worse, Spider-Girl."

_'Aww, that's so flattering.' _She climbed up to the (weirdly high) roof of the chamber and did another quick scan of the room. No windows, no other doors out...place felt like a prison cell. Canis rubbed a hand through his beard and glared at Ock's back, "And how do I know I can trust you, Carolyn? You've betrayed me once already, what's stopping you from doing so again?"

Once again she didn't bother to turn around, "Again with this? If you so distrust me the door is right there," One of her tentacles pointed to the door lazily, "You're a businessman, Canis. Allying myself with the Black Tarantula was the most expedient and profitable option at the time, as allying with you is now. If you're asking for a blood oath and a swear of loyalty then you're looking at the wrong woman. I see a mutual benefit in our cooperation and that is the basis of this exchange.

"And how do you know I won't betray you, then?"

"Because I'm useful. You are a pragmatic man, dear Canis, and what I offer you now is something no one else can give. Not unless you fancy the idea of fighting your way through all those Avengers and incurring the wrath of their allies."

_It was a portal,_ Mayday thought. Doc Ock was trying to make a portal. Not good. There was a reason the Avengers rarely ever used theirs - tearing a hole through space time wasn't like taking the bus. She had to shut it down.

Canis suddenly stiffened and sniffed the air. He looked up to where she was and narrowed his eyes, _'Guess we're doing this.' _She webbed Canis' mouth shot and swung down to kick him into the wall when her spider-sense suddenly blared. Mayday flipped through the air and just barely avoided the sweeping tentacle that would've hit her mid-section.

"Spider-Girl. Come to interfere again?" Doc Ock snarled.

"You know me, Doc. Always keep up with my doctors appointments." Canis tore off the web from his mouth and charged towards her, teeth bared and clawed hands raised. Mayday flipped over his charge and kicked him into the corner wall, "Kinda busy here, Canis-"

Spider-sense.

Moving on instinct, Mayday flipped backwards to avoid the stabbing tentacle only for another on to grab her left leg and slam her against the ground face first. Mayday twisted and made to fire some web at Ock's face before another tentacle wrapped itself around her arms in a tight grip, "Urk, too tight, Doc! Safe word, safe word!" Had to find a way out before it was too late. Her eyes looked around frantically till she saw sparking fuse box close by.

"Always with the jokes, hm?" Another tentacle wrapped itself around her neck and _squeezed. _Mayday choked and coughed as Ock raised her upright in the air, "I'm going to enjoy this."

_'Now!' _She twisted her palm and shot a line of electric webbing at the exposed fuse box. A sudden loud whirring sounded through the entire chamber and she was almost blinded by the swirling blue light that came from the portal, "You fool, I haven't finished calibrating it yet!" Ock turned back to the portal and the grip of the tentacles slackened.

Mayday pried the tentacles off and jumped into the nearby wall, "You know it's not nice to play with portals!" She shot two lines and webbed to the ground and launched herself at Ock. Two tentacles blocked the kick, but the impact was enough to knock her back close to the portal, "Whadda say you two turn yourselves in? I'll even tell the police they'll give you time off for good behavior!"

"I am never going back inside!" Canis roared from behind her. Mayday jumped to avoid Canis' second charge and he rammed into Ock like a full bore rhino. Ock stumbled back again one of her arms slammed against one of the pillars holding the device upright. The whirring sound became louder and Mayday's spider-sense screamed before the bright blue light engulfed her vision.

* * *

**PhysicsBoi**: Anyone else see that blue portal open up over Times Square?

**Bladewolf**: Blue portal? Lol someone's been smoking a bit too much.

**PhysicsBoi:** Legit. Saw a blue portal and like three people shoot out of it. Teleporter accident?

**AairMaster:** Think it's a portal to another dimension? Spinerette did say she was from a different one.

**Bladewolf:** Pfft what are the chances of that?

**AairMaster:** As much as an alien invasion.

**PhysicsBoi:** Lol.

* * *

When Mayday opened her eyes again she was free-falling through the air at terminal velocity.

"Woah, woah, woah!" She stumbled through the air in a panic and rapidly tapped her webshooters, only to be met with a clicking sound, "Come on, come on! Don't jam now!" She fiddled with the webshooter as the ground drew closer and closer. She knew she was strong, but jumping out of double skyscraper height and landing on the pavement would end with her being a spider-pancake.

She was about 50 feet from the ground when a web finally sputtered out to the nearby building, "Yes!" The web pulled taut and she grunted from the shooting pain that went up her arm. Even for her that hurt. Mayday let go of the web, spun on a nearby horizontal flagpole then landed on the street. She was not proud to admit she skidded butt-first on the ashphalt.

...And people were staring at her. Great.

Mayday looked up at the crowds of stunned civilians and raised her hand in a cheery wave as she stood, "What's up, folks? Uh...would any of you have happened to see a really hairy guy in a hoodie and a woman in a green jumpsuit with four tentacles? They're pretty hard to miss."

Amazingly, an old woman actually answered and pointed to the south behind her, "They went that way. If they're Supervillains give them a good kickin!"

"Heh...will do, lady." Mayday threw her a thumbs up and jumped in preparation to swing only for the webshooter to click dully again. She landed on the ground and looked down at the metal bracelets with a frown. Whatever that portal did it wrecked her webshooters. Her dad was gonna _kill_ her when she got back from...wherever the heck this place was.

Mayday took a second to catch her breath and took a look around. Place looked like Times Square...but not really. Different signs, higher buildings, even a different hotdog guy. Old Stan was selling dogs for decades and he was never gonna die, "Okay, so...I'm guessing I'm in another dimension," she mumbled. Made the most sense. Portal activated and took her to another reality. No prob. She'd stop Ock and Canis, find this world's Fantastic 4 and borrow a portal to get back. She'd been through this rodeo before.

She was just about to run - so _weird_ to not having webbing - when two young women suddenly came up to her, "Man, this is why I love New York!" They both posed next to her with peace signs while the more heavyset of the trio raised her camera phone to take a pic. Mayday was too stunned by the suddenness of it to say anything, "Hey, what's your name?"

"Uh...Spider-Girl." Tentatively considering a change to Spider-Woman, but Stinger suggested she wait till she was old enough to drive before making a swap. Sometimes it sucked being 15.

The blonde furrowed her brows, "Uh, no, there's _already_ a Spider-Girl. You can't be both Spider-Girl!"

Yeah...definitely another dimension. Oh well, at least she knew there were Spiders her, "Listen, I don't have time for this. Sorry." She stepped past them and, with a deep breath, broke out into a run. She wasn't used to running on street level, but she could deal. Mayday slipped past the crowds and automatically bypassed the newspaper stands and cars in her way. Those parkour lessons with Darkdevil really paid off...even if the guy was a jerk about it.

She heard screaming coming from the right. That was probably them. Mayday run up the closest building, flipped to the roof and narrowed her eyes at the scene below. Doc Ock was rampaging through the streets without a care, two tentacles propelling her forward while another held onto an unconscious Canis. He was still breathing, which was a small relief. She didn't want the guy dead, after all.

She was about to cut in when another figure landed on a nearby lamppost. Mayday wasn't ashamed to admit she just gawked. She'd seen her dad's old costume before but one was nothing like it. The woman - another surprise - wore a black, white, pink and teal ensemble with a hood securely attached to her head. Still, the way she balanced on top of the post made it clear she was another Spider.

"Hey, I hate to say this, but you're kinda causing a disturbance. If you're not a new Supervill maybe we could just chat and make sure we don't have any misunderstandings?"

Doc Ock threw a car at her. The other Spider dodged and Mayday jumped from the building to charge at her. She was inches from jumping on the mad scientist's back when one of the legs keeping her upright suddenly launched forward towards her, "Too close!" She leapfrogged over the metal appendage as the Spider-Woman(Girl?) shot two lines of webbing Doc Ock's face.

Ock raised Canis like a shield. Mayday almost felt sorry when the guy's entire face was suddenly covered in white, "Woah, that's cold, lady!" The black and white Spider quipped.

Mayday scrambled back to gather her bearings and the Spider-Woman landed next to her with a crouch, "Take it you know this one?" she asked.

"Yeah, long story. Name's Spider-Girl, by the way."

"You know someone already-"

"I know. Like I said, long story."

Ock looked between them and puckered her lips like she'd swallowed something sour, "Of all the dimensions to land in. Hmph, I don't have time for this." Mayday's spider-sense rang just before something detached from the harness at Ock's back and surged towards them like a missile.

"Get down!" Mayday pushed Spider-Woman out of the way and the projectiles soared past them before suddenly exploding. A bright light engulfed her vision and there was a painful ringing in her ears. The sudden blind and deaf state lasted for a few painful seconds and when she finally got the first bearing of sight again she found the whole street abandoned with Ock nowhere in sight.

Next to her, Spider-Woman groaned and shook her head, "Ah crap, that smarts...!" Her costume...moved and she rubbed her eyes as she stood, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Actually thought it'd be worse." Mayday rubbed away the last traces of bright spots in her vision and sighed. Chasing after Ock was probably a no-go now without her webshooters. Ock wouldn't be dumb enough to draw attention again, not with a Spider here.

Speaking of...

Mayday gave the other girl a sideways glance. She seemed fine, though her costume occasionally thrummed. Weird, but so far it seemed like she was a hero. Good, she really didn't like going to dimensions where heroes were villains. Just made things too confusing. And sad.

Spider-Woman suddenly pulled a phone out of...somewhere and pressed it against her ear, "Yeah, Pete? No, I'm still going. Just got distracted. No, not Koalla Kommander. I'll tell ya later." She cut the call, "Sorry, but I really gotta go. Take care of yourself, 'kay?"

"A-Ah, wait!" Mayday held up both hands, "Actually I could really use your help! I'm...not from here."

"Out of towner, huh? Well, if you wanna tour I'm not sure how much help I'd be."

"No, it's not that. It's..." Mayday took a deep breath and considered her next words, "I know you might not believe me, but I'm from another dimension." Spider-Woman crossed her arms and tilted her head to the side without saying a word, "I know crazy that sounds, but-"

"Not really." Spider-Woman cut in casually, "You know what, I actually believe you. Gut instinct, I guess. But we should probablyy save the explanation when we're somewhere more private."

Mayday nodded and followed after Spider-Woman...or at least she tried to considering her webshooters were busted. Spider-Woman looked back at her mid-swing and swung back around, "What's wrong?"

"My webshooters are busted. Going through the portal wrecked em somehow." She didn't check yet, but she was pretty sure her phone was fried too. Not that it mattered; she didn't have a call plan in whatever dimension this was.

"Oh. Well, I could do a side-along if it's not too embarassing?"

"Sure. Better than the time I had to use my friend's glider."

Mayday held on tightly and just let Spider-Woman carry her along with one hand. It wasn't the first time she'd done this, but usually she was the swinger not the holder. Still, she couldn't deny there was something almost relaxing about not having to be the one to pick the directions to go to or the running out of webfluid. If she wasn't currently trapped in an alternate dimension with two of her Supervillains it might've been fun.

Spider-Woman stopped at relatively small building rooftop. Mayday separated from her and awkwardly smiled under her mask when she caught the masked figure in black with a pizza box next to him on the vent, "Hey. Didn't realize you were bringing company." His voice was rough, but artificially so. She'd tried growling to scare criminals before to know a fake voice when she heard it.

"This is Spider-Girl. She's from another dimension...uh, not the same as you know who, so _another_ another dimension. She's a friend, so you can stop with the growly voice there."

"Uh, hey." Mayday stepped forward and offered him a hand, "Nice to meet you, uh..."

"Spider-Man." His voice was softer now...and oddly familiar. Mayday looked him up and down and shook her head. He said Spider-Man, but she doubted he was a version of her dad. Too edgy looking, "...I know this seems like an odd choice, but try and punch me in the face. And make sure it's an actual hit. "

"What, why?!"

"Just roll with it." Spider-Woman said.

She looked between the two of them and, after a moment of hesitation, punched him right in the jaw with a quick right hook. Spider-Man stumbled back slightly and rubbed his face through his mask, "Oh crap, I'm sorry! Are you hurt? I-"

"It's fine. Just needed to be sure." He shook his head and let out a soft breath, "Needed to know if you were another Spider or someone trying to plant something. Spider-sense doesn't warn me about other Spiders, so I know you're real."

"It doesn't? Good to know." Hopefully she never ran into any evil alternate Spider-People (again) any time soon, "So yeah...alternate dimension Spider stuck in this place cause I couldn't stop my Doc Ock from making a portal and now I'm trapped here and they're going on a rampage." He made a small noise at that but said nothing, Speaking of, we _are_ in New York, right? Just wanna make sure."

"Yeah, the Big Apple in all its glory. I was confused too when I first got here," Spider-Man said.

"Wait, you're from another dimension too?"

"That's...a bit of a long story, but close enough. I'm not really an 'expert' on it, though. Kinda just fumbled around." He stood and looked to Spider-Woman, "We should call Cin and the others."

"Sure. We can meet up at my place."

"You sure? What about your secret identity?"

"She's from another dimension, I'm sure we're good." Spider-Woman shrugged.

"I think you're being a bit too trusting..."

"I actually kinda agree with him," Mayday added, "Okay, um...how about I take off my mask first and tell you my name? That way it's a give and take?"

"You don't have to, but...sure. Again, let's do it at my place."

She didn't bother arguing the point and just let Spider-Woman carry her back to the apartment. She felt guilty leaving Spider-Man behind, but apparently he didn't like doing the side-along thing so it was a win-win all around. For Spider-Woman's sake, and her own guilt, Mayday made sure to keep her eyes closed the entire way there. She'd been on the other end of the secret identity gig long enough to have a healthy paranoia.

Mayday opened her eyes when Spider-Woman slowed down, "We're here." Mayday nodded in affirmative and jumped into the nearby wall so Spider-Woman could crawl through the window first. Mayday came in after her and looked around the room. It was small and cozy, not unlike her own. Maybe Spiders just liked the same things? She wasn't feeling the hood, though. Felt really impractical.

"Nice place."

"Yep. Casa de Spider-Woman. Not a mansion, but it works." She led her outside into the kitchen and picked up two sodas from the fridge, "Others'll be here soon."

"Cool." Mayday put her mask up to her nose and took a sip before almost spitting it out. Spider-Woman looked at her in worry, "I-I'm fine, just...didn't expect it to be so sweet."

"Yeah, Pete and Cin are the same. I never get it."

"Pete..." She called him that before, but Mayday thought she might've misheard, "So...weird question, but Pete wouldn't happen to stand for Peter Parker, would it? With a Benjamin at the middle."

"Yeah. You know him back in your place?"

"You...You could say that." Great, another alternate version of her dad. The first one she met was a teenager who flirted with her and the other one was a Supervillain who mind controlled Superheroes. And honestly she couldn't tell which was worse, "Hey, really long shot here, but are you maybe Mary Jane Pa-uh, _Watson_ under that mask? Just throwing out names here."

"No, but MJ's one of my best friends." She sipped her own soda, "You gonna explain how you know em or are we gonna go through my entire headbook list?"

What the heck was headbook? Shaking her head, Mayday opened her mouth to reply before the door suddenly opened behind her, "Yo, Gwencent, I got your message." Mayday turned to the all-too familiar voice and froze. It was her. Same bright red hair, same light freckles on her cheeks. Mary Jane Parker, her mom. Except she was young, just a few years older than Mayday's own 16, and dressed way different than the sweatpants and t-shirt combo her own mom wore. Now she was in a pair of torn legging, hot pink shorts, brown boots and a white tank-top that exposed her freckled shoulders.

It was like seeing your mom trying to be hip only ten times worse cause it actually worked.

Mom- Mary Jane stopped when she saw her, "Uh...new friend?"

"Yeah. This is Spider-Girl, she came here from another dimension."

Oddly enough, Mary Jane just rolled her eyes, "Right, so is she _actually_ from another dimension or does she just think that?"

"Kinda leaning towards the former. Someone took a vid of that blue portal opening over Times Square." She still had no idea exactly how Ock managed to survive that fall with Canis in tow, though she chalked that up to those tentacles. If she wasn't so evil Mayday would've been impressed, "Either way she needs help and Spiders stick together. That and she knew who you were before you even came in, so..."

"Maybe she's a Mary Janes fan?" The redhead grinned and sat on the couch. It looked way too familiar, "So does this Spider-Girl have a name? Cause I'm kinda feeling naked being the only one without a mask here."

"Let's wait for the others so we don't have to keep repeating."

The last three arrived soon enough. The first two - a brunette teen who looked about the same age as her and an Asian teenager in a sleek outfit - she didn't recognize. The third was...Peter. He looked different. Different hair color, a stubble instead of a goatee, and a noticeable lack of a cane and 20 years worth of wrinkles, but it was definitely still him. The last time she'd seen her dad so young he had a flat top and dressed like someone going to the debate team.

"What's the sitch, Spider-Gwen?" The brunette teen asked. Mayday furrowed her brows. Spider-_Gwen?_ Was that how she called herself?

Spider-Gwen sat on the chair next to Mary Jane and Mayday took the one next to her, "First we should probably introduce ourselves. This is Spider-Girl, she's been trapped in our dimension because of a mad scientist supervillain with an octopus motif."

"This seems familiar..." Peter - God that felt weird to say - muttered, "Name's Peter Parker, by the way."

"Well as someone who's been there done that, I say welcome to this little slice of insanity we have here," the Asian girl quipped, "You can call me Cindy."

"Lana," The brunette teen added lazily.

"And you already know MJ." Spider-Gwen took off her mask and exposed a head of blonde hair and an eerily familiar face, "Gwen Stacy. Since you know Pete and MJ I'm guessing you know me too?"

Mayday couldn't say anything and just looked down at the floor. This was crazy. Her mom and dad who looked barely older than she was and her dad's greatest regret all sitting in the same room like nothing was wrong. Mayday looked at the three in turn and steeled herself, "Yeah, I do." She took off her mask and did her best to smile, "My name's May Parker, but my friends call me Mayday."

The name Parker seemed to jolt all of them. Cindy's eyes narrowed slightly while Gwen's, Mary Jane's and Lana's went almost comically wide. Peter just looked away and made a noise. Mayday sunk into her seat and blew out a small breath. This was not the best first impression.

Eventually Spider-Gwen managed to speak up, "So...does that mean you're like a version of Aunt May except way younger?"

"No, at least I don't think so? Do you mean the Aunt May who was married to Uncle Ben?" Spider-Gwen nodded, "Then...no, she's my grand-aunt. Grandma, really, since she was the one who raised dad."

She practically saw all the pieces line into place. Cindy laughed under her breath while Peter made another noise and stood to get some food from the fridge. Lana spoke up to cut through the heavy silence, "Figures that we get someone from another dimension and they end up being your and Pete's kid," she said to Spider-Gwen with a sigh. Mayday just looked uncomfortable as the words sank in.

"So...you two are together?" She asked the blonde while pointing between her and Peter.

"Yeah. Why, is it weird seeing your dad so young?" Spider-Gwen asked back with an awkward smile.

"Uh...okay, so I'l just say this straight out because I don't it to be awkward later. He's my dad and...she's my mom." Mayday pointed towards the oddly quiet redhead. Mary Jane just looked at her for a few seconds before she jumped clean off the couch.

"Wh-What?!"

"Yeah...if you're Mary Jane Watson, then that means your counterpart back in my dimension is my mom." This was why she didn't stay to chat when she got stuck in alternate universes. Always made things awkward.

"Huh, that's...well that's something," Spider-Gwen said blankly, "So...any idea where I'm at in your place?"

"You're...dead." Okay, maybe not the best way to start off, but this was a weird situation all around. Mayday continued before the other Spider could cut in, "You-uh, my world's Gwen Stacy and dad dated when they were both in college and...things went bad when a bad guy called the Green Goblin got involved." Peter muttered something under his breath, "He found out about dad's secret identity and he figured that he could use her to lure him to a trap."

"Wait, so Peter- your dad was Spider-Man?" Cindy asked.

"Yeah, he gave up the mask years ago but back then he was Spider-Man." And he still had it whenever he put on the mask again, "There was a fight at the George Washington bridge and Gwen Stacy...she didn't make it." She didn't want to tell them exactly what happened. Her dad still lived with the guilt of it, the guilt of everyone he couldn't save.

"So I'm...dead in another universe. That's...interesting." She looked to Peter and he just sighed softly and shook his head. There was definitely something there that they hadn't been open with.

Peter scoffed, "Should've known Osborn would be trouble."

"Peter, it's a different dimension. Harry wouldn't do that here," Gwen replied.

"Harry? No, no, it was his dad Norman." That got her a few odd looks, "...Harry Osborn did take up the Goblin mask and fight my dad, but Norman was the one who did that." And a bunch of horrible things to her, her dad and April.

"Alright, so you're telling us the CEO of Oscorp went around as a Supervillain? ...Yeah, I can totally see that," Lana shrugged , "Anyway, I stand corrected. Apparently Pete got busy with Jane. Sorry, Spider-Gwen."

"Wh-What are you apologizing for? It's a different dimension!" she shot back hotly.

"Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night." Lana tapped her shoulder and hummed sympathetically, which was more than a little disturbing considering she just finished telling them that Gwen Stacy was dead back home. "So, am I dead back in your place too?"

"Uh...I don't know. I don't know you and Cindy, sorry."

"Eh, bet I died to Carter without Pete watching my back," she said, oddly lax. Peter threw her a dirty look and slapped the back of her head, "Hey, careful! I have no clue if I'll blow up if you hit me now that I got these new powers!"

"Then stop saying things like that," he shot back.

"B-Back on topic," Spider-Gwen said, "Mayday's currently stuck here and she needs our help. Why don't we start from the beginning again, 'Day?" 'Day'? Well, it wasn't the worst nickname she'd heard.

"Right, okay..." She told them everything. Ock and Canis' jailbreak, finding them in the warehouse, that portal malfunctioning, then ending up here. None of them were surprised except for maybe Mary Jane. Apparently people from alternate dimensions ending up here wasn't that weird or uncommon. It helped her forget the prior awkwardness, at least.

"So we need to be on the lookout for an old lady with tentacles and a really hairy dude," Cindy said, "I'll talk to the other officers at the precinct so we can get an APB out on these guys. I'll call Daisy too and see if we can borrow their portal. S.H.I.E.L.D should still have theirs somewhere." Police? S.H.I.E.L.D? How did a teenager know them enough that she could call in favors like that?

"I'll go talk to Nor and Gabe, too. They can probably dig something up," Lana added.

"Me, Peter and MJ'll search around with Mayday tomorrow. I need to swing by Wasp's later so we can borrow a pair of spare webshooters." Mayday didn't disagree. She wanted to be out there right now, but she couldn't cover much ground without her webs. Besides, she was exhausted. Lana and Cindy said their goodbyes, leaving just the four of them.

"Guess you're staying here for now." Spider-Gwen stood up and stretched, "Couch good?"

"Sure." Mayday smiled, "Uh...do you all live here?"

"Yeah. Well, Peter's not on the lease technically, but the landlord didn't look twice when I paid him."

"Should really have let me do that, Gwen..." Peter said softly.

"It's cool. Not like I'm buying sports cars or anything."

* * *

**Imrightbehindyou:** Another day, another spider hero. Why are there so many of them?

**TheCollector:** Agreed. We need more insect based heroes besides Wasps and Spiders. Where my Mosquito Man at?!

**SmileyGuy:** Killed by the world's biggest flyswatter :P

**FactBot:** Daily reminder that spiders are arachnids, not insects. Thank you.

**TheCollector:** Bad Bot.

**Imrightbehindyou:** Seriously, though, it's fucking weird how many of them there are. People saw this new chick and Spider-Woman working together. At least have more male spider people!

**SmileyGuy:** Man, Jameson's gonna freak when he finds out...

**FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman:** Spider-Girl - yes, we know someone else has that name - is only visiting. If anyone sees an old woman with metal tentacles or a guy covered in fur please notify us. Thanks :)

**EPFrog: **I'll keep an eye out!

**StrikerNotBombshell:** Keep it in your pants, frog boy...

* * *

She couldn't sleep.

Mayday stared up at the dark ceiling blankly and sighed. It was almost midnight now and Spider-Gwen (and Peter, who went with her) still hadn't come back from visiting Wasp. Idly, Mayday wondered how her family was doing now. She always made sure to at least send a text if she was staying up past her normal curfew. As far as they knew she'd gone to fight Ock and just didn't come back.

Shaking her head, Mayday sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the couch. She couldn't think about them, not now. She'd just worry herself sick, "Damn..." She took a deep breath and stood, grabbing the jacket from the nearby table. Gwen had lent her some of her old clothes and they were close enough in size that she felt comfortable in them.

She needed to clear her head.

Mayday put on the jacket and a pair of shoes and walked out. The night air was chilly and she shrunk into the fabric. The place was...different. The buildings were way higher than what she was used to and the neon everywhere...oh man, the _neon_. It was giving her a headache just looking at them. How did everyone live in a world like this? Diabetes made out of pure sugar and neon lighting bright enough to make your head explode.

Eventually her attention was drawn elsewhere, "Avengers..." She stopped and looked at the billboard. She recognized Spider-Gwen and Cindy, but the other four were strangers...sort of. She recognized the Captain America and Wasp uniform and green woman looked like some of the old pictures of She-Hulk she remembered, but the archer in purple wearing shades was a complete unknown.

They weren't the only ones. Every few blocks she passed she saw an ad with one of the six Avengers or billboards about the Initiative program. She heard about it from her dad. Apparently back then Tony Stark tried to license superheroes. Good idea in theory, but in practice it ended up falling flat. Apparently this universe ended up making it work.

Still, she couldn't help but notice how female oriented the heroes here were, both in the billboards and the ones she met back in Spider-Gwen's apartment. Not that she minded, a hero was a hero, but it was kind of new to her. Usually it was the other way around.

She stopped when she saw it. A black and white billboard with her dad's picture on the left and giant, bolded words: STOP THE SPIDER-WOMAN. CALL 1-555-FOR-PETER. CASH SUM REWARD. It was heavily vandalized with a Spider-Woman mask painted on the side with pink coloration and the word's 'WHOSE RESPONSIBLE?' next to it. Her dad's picture was drawn over clumsily with a drawing of a lizard.

It stuck out from all the hero and corporate ads she ran into and she found herself drawn to it. Mayday walked to a nearby alley and, after making sure no one was around, took off the shoes and climbed to the top of the building. She put the shoes back on when she got to the top and continued to stare at the billboard. What the hell did it mean? Spider-Gwen seemed to be popular so, this didn't make any sense.

"Gwen hates that billboard." Mayday jumped and turned to the source of the new voice. She almost didn't recognize her because of the costume, but the long red hair spilling out the mask and the muffled but still recognizable voice clued her in quickly enough, "She's been trying to get it taken down, but a lot of people like it and are paying to keep it up. Reminds them of how much she struggled back then. Adds to the heroic feel, you know?"

"Mo- Mary Jane." Mayday looked her up and down, "I...didn't know you followed me." Or that she had powers. Sure, she heard Spider-Gwen say she'd help them look around, but she figured she'd ask around like her mom would've done.

"I didn't. I saw you crawling up the building when I was swinging around. You really need to be more careful." She lowered her mask and smiled, "Come on let's get up top. The view's killer."

Mayday could only nod mutely and followed her up. Mary Jane offered her a hand when she got to the top and Mayday took it gratefully, "New York city in all its glory." Mary Jane sat down and, without any kind of warning, her costume changed. The sleek jacket suddenly sprouted a hood and her red hair became short enough that she could cover her face with the hood.

"How did..."

"Part of my 'perks'." A snake-like _thing_ jutted out of her shoulder and looked up at her with a toothy grin. Mayday's eyes widened and she stepped back, almost falling off the billboard entirely in her shock. She knew what it was.

"That's...That's the Carnage symbiote."

The red, pulsating thing _laughed_, **_"Huh, looks like we do get a better name at one point." _**Mayday shuddered. It had her voice, but it was distorted and twisted to something inhuman.

"How do you know Crimson?"

"I..." Should she say it? Moose still hadn't forgiven Spider-Girl for it despite her knowing it was the right thing to do, "I killed it. Back in my world it used to be attached to a mass murderer called Cletus Kasady." Then Moose, then Benjy. She still hated that Benjy lost his hearing because of that damn gun. Thank God it was only temporary, "It tried to kill a lot of innocent people. I didn't have a choice."

The 'snake' suddenly growled up at her while Mary Jane smiled wryly, "Hah, that's two for two. Least your mom didn't end up getting attached to it." The snake sunk back into her shoulder and Mary Jane patted the empty space to her left, "You just gonna keep standing there?"

Mayday sat next to her awkwardly and just...looked at her. It was so odd. Despite the decades of difference she still saw her mom there, but she was different. Colder, more tired despite her younger years, "Why is it with you?"

"Crimson? That's...a long story and I don't wanna get into it. Fact of the matter is that I can't pry it off without turning my body into a fleshy coffin and I'm not brave enough to to make the sacrifice play. So I just...live with it. We leave with each other, really." She smiled again. It looked fake, "It's been getting better, but we still have our moments."

"...I'm sorry." She thought of Benjy again. And April. More than a few times she wondered if being attached to a symbiote was part of the reason she'd been so unstable for a while. Saving her from that warehouse fire seemed to have calmed her down, but even now she wondered if one day her sister would snap and they'd have to go through Mayhem all over again.

"It's not your fault. Besides, I've helped people here and there. I'm not a real Superhero like Gwencent, but it's something." She put her right leg up and hugged it close to her, "So...in your world me and Tiger ended up together?" She stared straight on ahead and Mayday couldn't see her expression, but her voice was enough. Soft and wistful with just a bit of hope.

"Yeah..." Mayday smiled at the thought of her parents. Over 20 years of marriage and still as strong as the day they started, "Did you two ever..."

"What, me and Tiger? Nah, he always had eyes for Gwencent." She didn't sound frustrated, just...sad, "Then again that's something we both share."

"Wait, what do you..." Mayday's eyes widened, "Do you mean that you-"

"Like both him and Gwen? Yeah." She finally turned to look at her and Mayday saw the teasing smile on her face. Mayday didn't know what to say and just kept quiet, "Pretty weird, huh? Then again life hasn't been normal for a while now. I'm not expecting anything, if you're curious. The two of them can be lovey dovey and I'm happy for them. They're two of the closest friends I have."

"Wow..." Her mom and dad's heads would have _exploded_ if they found out about this, "I feel like now's a good time to say this isn't the first time I ran into another version of my dad."

"Who was that one going out with?"

"Betty Brant." Mary Jane's smile was replaced with a look of utter confusion, "Yeah, I was pretty surprised too. Oh, and Liz Allan liked him." Kinda awkward considering Aunt Liz was Normie's mom.

"Betty and Liz? Christ, the multiverse is a weird place" She took out a packet of gum from one of her jacket pockets and offered one to Mayday, which she accepted, "Not gonna lie, I think you freaked Gwencent out when you told her about the whole 'you died' thing."

"Yeah...sorry about that."

"She'll move on. Least it wasn't Peter who died." Mayday's brows furrowed at the way she said that.

"What do you mean by that? Your Peter's alive, isn't he?"

"Wasn't always." She gestured to her right to the spraypainted Lizard picture, "Tiger was dead for two years. He was bullied back in high school and he wanted to get back at everyone so he made this serum that he thought would give him superpowers. Instead it turned him into a giant Lizard. Gwen stopped him but when the fighting was done Peter was dead and she was called a murderer. Police hunted her down for those two years."

"That's..." She didn't know the words. He'd died then come back? And the one he was with now was the one who killed him? It sounded insane even to her and she'd seen into Darkdevil's soul, "How is he back?"

"That's the complicated bit. Whatever gave him his powers brought him back last year with fucked up memories from a Spider-Man from another dimension. I don't think he's 'Peter Parker' anymore, least not the way Gwen remembers him, but she's fine with that. We all are. Helps that none of us were really close to him before he came back."

"Huh." An understated reaction, but she had no idea what else to say, "Back in my world my dad had two clones, but he considered them his brothers. Uncle Ben's the one whose costume I'm wearing now and Uncle Kaine helps me out when he can. I also have a sister, April. Green Goblin cloned one of us and we're not really sure who's the original. She's still kind of ticked about it."

"Clones? Now _that's_ crazy." Mary Jane grinned lightly, "Anyway, we should be getting back. Don't want either of them to worry."

Mayday nodded and made stand before her spider-sense suddenly _screamed_. A powerful, spasming pain coursed throughout her entire body and Mayday fell to the side, screaming all the while. Mary Jane screamed something, but Mayday couldn't hear her. She barely even felt the shooting impact when she landed on her right arm. Just barely she saw Mary Jane jump down and kneel by her side.

She curled in on herself with her eyes shut tight, just trying to hold off on screaming, when the pain suddenly ended. Mayday opened her eyes and gasped, grabbing for Mary Jane desperately and refusing to let go, "I'm here, Mayday. I'm here." Mayday hugged the redhead tightly and held her close. Her heart beat loudly against her ears.

They stayed that way for at least a couple of minutes before Mayday's heart finally calmed down and she loosened her grip on the older woman, "I...I'm okay." She wasn't. What in the hell was that? Mary Jane bit her lip and the mask covered her face again as she helped Mayday up.

"I...I think we need to see Wasp."

* * *

**Part 1 done. The next part will be them trying to fix Mayday's glitching and finding both Lady Ock and Canis to bring them back to Earth-982 before they steal Earth-65 tech and make thngs worse for everyone. **

**Anyway, hope you guys liked this one. I'll admit I felt off writing Mayday cause she just felt too similar to Gwen. It's part of the reason why I changed Cindy around so she wasn't just 'Gwen without the preachiness', to quote some older reviewers. Something tells me Mayday wouldn't be too happy if she found out her alternate mom and dad have bodycounts...**

**Questions:**

**1\. Does anyone find the ages of the protagonists weird? To recap Gwen and MJ are 21, Peter's 19, Lana's 17 and Cindy's 29. Cindy is the only one who seems like she would be viably old and experienced enough to do the things she does and I wonder if it jars people out. Especially Peter and Lana given how dark their segments tend to be.**

**2\. I know it's a bit soon, but what do you guys think of non-possessed Karen from last chapter? I'm debating whether to put her into more segments when she's not bonded to Ruth. It might help contextualize her relationship to Matt and her own motivations. **

**3\. More a curiosity thing, but would you guys want Peter and/or MJ to join the Initiative or Avengers? A big part of their appeal is their loner anti-heroism tendencies but adding them to those groups come with its own plot potential. **

**Review Answers:**

**Brave2000 - Why wouldn't Felicia/MJ work with the tone? It's not like Felicia is ultra light or anything.**

**Noisy-Cricket - To answer your questions in order: Yes, Matt is a lawyer working pro-bono charity cases; Gwen sleeps on the bed, especially with Peter back; No, she doesn't absorb energy since she's using her own internal powers rather than taking it like a battery; Cindy tends to be both good cop and bad cop dependent.**

**DigitalEmperor001 - I'm aware you're being facetious.**

**Cha0s4ever - What MJ compromise? Also, the pregnancy storyline is a long game**

**Spider-God766 - DD is well known for having a lot of love interests, though. Also, Cindy's childishness makes sense considering the bunker and ten years thing. She was stuck mentally as a teenager.**

**Titan616 - Thor is too busy running New Asgard here to deal with the dreaded Noobmaster69. That and the issue is that Gwen stops even purse snatchers whereas she does nothing to stop Peter and MJ from commiting pre-meditated killings, which is way worse than stealing an old lady's purse for 50 bucks.**

**Eudera - Yeah...I don't think Peter and Bullseye are gonna bro it up any time soon.**

**Raw Prodigy - No, because she beats him in mobility. Unless he rigged an entire arena beforehand going invisible does nothing since she can just jump on top of a building or swing away to avoid getting hit and wait him out. She's not gonna let him stab or blow her up. **

**Peter's weaker than Gwen period. There's nothing wrong with this since he specializes in stealth and can do things she can't such as when he defeated Blackout or managed to resist the Beast.**


	18. Time passes, nothing changes

**Another mainline chapter rather than part 2 of the Mayday omake. Apologies for those looking forward to it. I'll post it at a later date.**

**First things first. The poll (still open, so please vote if you haven't) is currently tied with 5 votes for webswinging/wallcrawling, 5 votes for magicial/scientific/demon gadgets, and 1 vote for more magical abilities. I'll keep the poll up for a one or two more chapters before closing it so look at my profile if you want a specific thing.**

**I'll also make a poll for MJ's love interest and post that when I finalize the power up choice. Should make things easier.**

**Anyway, according to the previews Spider-Gwen will relaunch as Ghost Spider #1 on August with Gwen attending college in 616 while still living in Earth-65. Guess we can kiss E-65 baddies and plots goodbye now that Gwen's in the 616 Spider pile. She's already fighting Arcade in September...**

* * *

**Truther:** So Spinerette is the alternate counterpart of Cindy Moon, the terrorist behind S.I.L.K. Anyone else find this really trippy?

**098012:** It's the multiverse, dude. Remember that issue where Cap had to fight an evil version of Steve Rogers who worshiped HDYRA?

**Truther:** Still fucking weird. Comic books are one thing, real life's another.

**EveningWood:** Considering Spider-Man's a resurrected Peter Parker and he's dating the person who 'killed' him, I'm not surprised. Watch and wait, Spider-Woman's gonna be like Mary Jane Watson or Sally Avril or Gwen Stacy or something just to make it more ironic. They were all in Midtown and they all knew him.

**simpleandclean:** Nah. I just went to a small **Mary Janes** concert a couple days ago and Spider-Woman was across town saving people when it happened. Not sure about Sally, though. What do we know about her?

**MJJackpot:** Sally wouldn't donate a dollar if it could cure cancer. And hey, nice to know some people think I could be a superhero, cause I would totally stay with a band when I could be hanging out with the Avengers :/

**EveningWood:** Just a theory, Watson. Gotta admit, it's weird that all these heroes are familiar names. Does Gwen Stacy have an opinion on her ex-best friend being Spider-Man?

**MJJackpot:** She doesn't like to talk about it, obviously. Paps tried to hound her cause they thought she was an in with Spider-Man.

**EveningWood:** Right, sorry. Anyway, you watching the Spider-Woman movie? Our class is watching it as a group :)

**MJJackpot:** Hard pass. Too busy with my new job. Have fun with that totally true story, though.

* * *

Lana never liked going to Wasp's place.

Nothing against the senior hero, but she always found the idea of shrink tech to be pretty fucking creepy. Maybe it was cause Spider-Gwen nearly fell on her ass-first during her short Godzilla stint, or maybe she just found wasps and ants (and spiders, but she didn't tell Pete that) to be creepy little fucks. Either way she'd been kinda soured on her from the word go.

Being shrunk down didn't help that opinion. At all.

Lana leaned against the hardlight building and waited for Wasp to calibrate the 'city'. Apparently she did this a lot to help Spider-Gwen test the new powers she got from that blob snake thing. The brunette yawned and tried not to think about the fact that Wasp and her daughter could just step on her 2 inch tall ass right now and flush her remains down the toilet.

Fuck, she _hated_ being small.

The road changed and Lana stepped off from the building. No cars, no fake people. Just a long strip of concrete, "Let's test your speed again." Lana nodded and took her position on the middle of the road. They'd been training with her powers for days now, just trying to find a way to make sure she didn't blow up her dorm room by mistake. That was the last thing she needed.

Lana took two steps before she was covered in a burst of light and she surged forward like Speed the Porcupine. She had to admit, despite her initial doubts these new powers were useful. She was way faster than before, and she could even run up buildings. No she didn't know why, and really she didn't care. She could run up fucking buildings! Eat it, Spider-Gwen!

She ran up the nearest building and made a three point landing on the center, "Ambush." Three hardlight gunmen with assault rifles appeared in front of her. Lana charged ahead and started punching and kicking. She was faster there too. Her fists glowed with yellow energy and the constructs stood no chance. Not that it mattered; Wasp made sure they fired blanks every time.

She dropkicked the last one over the edge of the roof just before another construct with a sniper rifle appeared on the opposite building, "Aim for the hands." She nodded and focused. Before her blasts were always explosive, always blowing things up. They still did, but now she could focus. She narrowed her eyes and aimed for the glowing blue hands.

The shot was fast and thin. The construct let go of the sniper rifle and she immediately blasted it in the face, "Well done." Lana shook her hands and and tapped the earpiece. This was her one lifeline back to normal sized land, "Is something the matter?"

"You thought about my last suggestion?" The suggestion being programming bullets into the constructs and letting them get a shot off. Not in her face or anything, she wasn't fucking crazy, but...in the arm or the leg or something. Just to see if that fast healing was still a thing.

She was quiet for a bit before she responded slowly, "I still have doubts. Asking to get shot is-"

"We need to be sure. I mean, I took a fucking shotgun to the face and I'm still alive." To emphasize her point she jumped off the building, which was a 40 feet drop from her perspective, and landed on the ground. It didn't hurt, "See? That should've broken both my legs and I'm still standing."

"I've told you before that part of your new abilities is kinetic dampening. It's the same reason why your new speed doesn't leave your skin raw."

"So that means bullets shouldn't be that much of a leap." Silence from the other end, "Look, I'm not asking to get shot with an anti-tank round or something. I just need to make sure that this healing thing is legit. You can make it a really weak bullet."

"Do I have to comment on how odd it is that a teenager is asking and listing the benefits of getting shot?" Wasp sighed, "Fine, but I'm making sure the hardlight ammunition only does minimal damage. I don't want to be responsible in telling Spider-Man why you're taking an extended stay at the hospital." She snorted. Yeah, he'd kill Lana if that happened.

"Pete's got no room to talk."

"Point. Now, don't move."Another construct, this one with a pistol. Lana resisted every instinct she had to fight or fly and just braced herself as the bullet shot and...grazed her shoulder.

...Whatever. It was good enough.

She looked down at the thin cut...and a rather disturbing lack of blood. It only took a few seconds before a white energy covered the wound and the skin was returned to normal, "Fascinating," Wasp chimed in her ear, "It appears that the energy is keeping your body in an optimal state."

"What's with the no blood thing?"

"I have my own theories on that. Let's grow you back so we can talk."

Oh thank fuck for that. Lana approached the designated platform and let Wasp grow her back to her normal height. She was tempted to as for an extra couple of inches, but she didn't want to risk anything. She fingered the T-shirt's torn right sleeve as she walked back to the table and sat on it. Probably a bad time to suggest getting shot when she was going to a basketball game later.

"So what's the verdict, doc? Am I gonna make it?"

"It was touch and go for a while there, but yes, you'll make a full recovery." Wasp smirked, "I did some more research from the DNA samples you gave me and compared it with a few others who showed a reaction to the Terrigen mist." She tapped her notepad and a bunch of holographic graphs appeared in front of them. Wonder how much _those_ cost? "As you can see here, while we can't tell which individuals are susceptible to a reaction before exposure, those that do change have their genetics altered.

"Right...not even gonna pretend to figure out what those drawings mean." She never was good at science.

"It means that your physiology has been altered, hence the 'no blood thing'." She gestured to the freshly healed cut, "Sudden, ballistic impacts are dispersed by the energy before penetrating too deep. And those that do..." Wasp took a syringe and stepped closer to her, "May I?" Lana nodded and flinched slightly when the needle (must've been vibranium or something) broke skin.

And drew white-yellow blood.

"Huh...neat. That's not normal, is it?"

"Part of your new physiology." Wasp set the filled syringe down. Lana kept staring at it, "Your blood, along with the rest of your body, has been altered by the mist to a great extent." She showed off another screen, "Actually, while I can't confirm anything, we can assume that your previous powers also came from Terrigenesis."

"How? That thing didn't show up till half a year ago."

"Exactly, which draws even more suspicion." Wasp nodded, "I doubt your mother is aware of anything, but it's quite possible the both of you were possibly exposed when you were both younger and the amount was enough to activate your latent abilities."

"Or maybe it was the serial killer shooting my mom in the stomach with a shotgun." Wasp just blinked in surprise at the blunt admission, "Look, I know this is interesting and all, but I really just wanna know if this means I'm good and won't blow up my room. Anya and Aracely are staying there and I kinda like em." She didn't care about the whole 'are you human?' thing. She could point at things and they exploded, that dilemma passed a _long_ time ago.

"Yes. Provided you remain calm and emotionally stable your powers should be no more dangerous than they were before."

"Great, that's all I wanted. Thanks."

"Not so fast." Wasp handed her a cellphone, "That's a phone that will get you a direct line to me. If you feel your powers acting up in any way then please don't hesitate to contact me."

"Huh...thanks." Lana smiled and put it in the pocket of her shorts. First Sue and now the Wasp. She really had hit the big time, "If there's nothing else I really gotta go. Promised Aracely I'd take her to a b-ball game."

"Go on. Have fun."

30 minutes later she, Gabe, Anya, Sue and Aracely (wearing a thick hood and a baseball cap to hide her face) were cheering on the bleachers as MVP and his team trashed their opponents. Aracely and Anya held up a sign while Lana clapped at another dunk. The game wasn't anything fancy - just a match on a public court. MVP didn't grow up poor, but he knew enough about working for what he had that he felt more comfortable here.

Sue wriggled awkwardly in her seat and kept throwing the occasional sideways glances at Gabriel. She looked so out of place here. Even with her shirt, skirt and sneakers it was clear that she didn't belong. Everything she owned was designer one way or another and it was clear at least a few people in the crowd recognized her if the pictures and whispers were anything to go by.

Gabriel split his attention between the game and his laptop. He really took to Nor and was there the second he was out of school. Nor seemed to like him too; apparently she felt guilty and even started paying him because of how much stuff he was doing for her. And of course Gabe felt guilty getting money for just doing what he thought was right, so it became doubly awkward.

Ah...she loved her friends.

MVP skidded close to them and almost tripped on the bleachers when the ball went out of court, "Sorry about that!" He smiled at them. Lana could practically Anya swooning already.

They all waved him off and continued watching the game. Lana leaned forward and gave Aracely a sideways glance. She'd been bunking with her and Anya for a few days now - much to Cindy's initial annoyance - and already she knew it wasn't feasible. They always had to keep their curtains closed, had to sneak her food from the cafeteria and Aracely couldn't make a single noise all day so people wouldn't realize something was up. They needed somewhere else for her to stay where she wasn't treated like an illegal housepet.

The game ended soon enough with MVP's team, unsurprisingly, scoring a final dunk. She stood and made to give her congratulations to the mvp (heh) when she saw a big dude in a tanktop steamroll up to him like a constipated rhino, "You fucking cheater!" If he was trying to be intimidating he failed hard. Kinda hard to outbulk a guy who grew up with Captain America training.

"Excuse me, what?" MVP asked back.

"You heard me, asshole." He shoved a finger to MVP's chest, "Only reason you won is cause you got some fucking injection. Cheating prick."

_'Ah shit, here we go again.' _Lana sighed. MVP dealt with this shit _way_ too much. It didn't matter that the Super Soldier serum was a one and done thing and that anyone who picked up a single Captain America comic book knew that. As soon as people found out he was the great-grandkid of the guy who made it everyone immediately assumed great old granddaddy was psychic and stashed away some serum for him. He lost all his awards and scholarships cause those dumbasses thought he cheated even after testing proved he didn't have anything in his blood.

That was, of course, till he graduated with top marks at the Initiative and Captain America confirmed what anyone with half a brain already knew - that he was, in fact, just a guy who had a good diet and did his push ups and to imply otherwise was an insult to hard work. Then suddenly everyone was scrambling and trying to play off like they didn't just spit in the dude's face for his years of resisting the temptation to eat cake.

But of course there were still people who refused to admit they were wrong. Like the people who thought vaccinations made you retarded or that the world was flat or that hoodies weren't dumb.

"I'm...sorry you think that way, but I didn't get the super soldier serum-"

"Bullshit!" Alright, enough was enough. Lana shoved the guy away and he almost fell flat on his ass, "Hey, the fuck are you-"

"No one likes a sore loser, dude." Lana sneered up at him. Both he and MVP were heads and shoulders over her but she didn't feel intimidated in the least, "Why don'tcha piss off 'fore you make a bigger ass of yourself?" She gestured to his team behind him, all of whom looked embarrassed or desperately tried to ignore the scene. Poor guys. She knew that most of them were nice guys.

"Fuck are you, one of his fans or somethin'?"

"No, I'm his friend, and guess what? I don't like seeing my friends get shit talked." She grabbed his shirt and tugged him down to her level. It would've felt cooler if his tanktop wasn't wet and he didn't stink of sweat, "Now be a good boy and stop being a shithead."

She shoved him away again. He looked like he was gonna say something when his eyes suddenly widened in what looked liked recognition, "Shit..." He scowled and turned away, "Fucking freakshows..." She rolled her eyes and gave him the middle finger. People always thought the freak word hurt, and maybe it did for most people. Someone who grew up with a prostitute mom, though? Yeah, it didn't even make the top 50 list.

MVP released a breath and smiled sheepishly down at her when the guy was out of sight, "Thanks, but you didn't have to-"

"I know, but I wanted to. Most of us 'Gifted' just got the luck of the draw so it pisses me off that you get shit on when you work so hard for these." She lightly punched his toned abs and grinned up at him, "Come on, let's go get something to eat."

When they got back Sue was, of course, surrounded by people asking for autographs. The blonde looked at her desperately and she was almost tempted to feign walking away or shoving Gabriel into the crowd. Almost. She wasn't that much of a bitch. Instead she waved her over and, with an apologetic freaking _bow_, Sue practically scurried up to them and made sure everyone else was around her as they walked to the pizza place.

Lana mostly kept quiet and let the others talk when they got a private booth. She munched on the mushroom and jalapeno (hey, don't judge her) and thought about what Wasp told her. She looked at her hand under the table and let a burst of yellow energy run through her fingertips.

Why her, she wondered. She was never anything special; just another kid who grew up in a shitty neighborhood. She wondered how things would be like if that bastard Carter never came. She would've never had to deal with all this insanity. Her mom wouldn't have had those scars and lost months of her life in that hospital.

But then she wouldn't have met Pete, her new friends, wouldn't have been able to help save people like Aracely or Gabe. She wasn't conceited enough to claim she fought for justice and truth, but there was something nice that she couldn't deny about helping people. Sure, she wasn't saving the world like the Avengers, but she didn't have to. This was enough.

Her musings were cut off when Aracely suddenly spoke out.

"Sue likes Gabriel."

Any and all chatter in the table died at the announcement. Sue's eyes went wide and her face went red while everyone else just looked at the youngest girl on the table. Aracely continued to chew on her pizza without even bothering to look up, "Anya like Michael, but she's too shy to tell him because he likes Lana. Michael does like her, and so does Gabriel. Michael had a wet dream about her two nights ago-"

"H-Hey!" MVP screamed shouted in a panic. Everyone else on the table was either covering their face or groaning into the table.

"Lana still has a crush on Spider-Man and somewhat resents Spider-Woman for it, but she's moving on. The Spider-Man and Punisher books help-"

"Hey, hey, hey! What the fuck?! Why are you saying shit that's not true?!" Despite the situation Anya actually took the time to give Lana a raised brow. She flipped her off.

Aracely finally looked up from her pizza and stared at Lana with confused, puppy dog eyes, "Not true?" She tilted her head to the side and it took everything Lana had to keep being pissed off at there, "But...you're all saying it now. I heard you."

"What do you..." Wait...did she mean, "Shit, I think I can guess what you mean, but tell me anyway."

"I hear you talking. You say words, but on top of those words are other things. Sue talks to Gabriel about his hobbies but on top of that she's thinking on how to ask him out." She could've sworn Sue actually whimpered at that, hands still covering her face. Gabe looked at the blonde sympathetically and rubbed her back, "Others are the same. Words but then words on top of the words."

"...You're a mind reader." She'd heard claims from people online. Most of em were bullshit, but she figured there had to have been a legit one floating around somewhere, "Shit, and here I thought all you could do was float."

"Mind reader, huh? Guess that explains it." Anya put a hand on her chin and nodded. Lana immediately noticed she was doing her best to absolutely not look at MVP, "But that doesn't explain why you're blurting it out."

"I...just did. Why do you blink?"

"Because when we do so our eyelids spread a cocktail of mucous and oils to keep our eyeballs hydrated," Lana recited. Hey, just cause she was bad at science didn't mean she didn't study, "Fine, I get it. Just...don't do it again. Or if you have to cover your mouth or leave the room."

"Okay, but...all of you are being very loud right now." She looked between Gabriel, Sue and MVP, "...I won't say anything more. Please don't be mad."

"We're not mad, it's just...most people don't blurt shit out." Lana sighed, "Just say sorry and promise you won't do it again, okay?" And no, she wasn't going to say anything about the bombshell (fuck that name) she dropped about Gabriel and MVP. Hormones were a bitch and she knew it.

"Okay...sorry."

Everyone eventually returned to normal with none of them talking about what Aracely just blurted out. She was sure it'd be awkward for them and they'd be wary about Aracely for a while, but they'd forgive her eventually.

They went their separate ways after that (and she didn't miss that Sue and Gabe left together). Anya said she'd take Aracely to her dad's place for a bit, leaving Lana some free time to go patrolling. She jumped on top of a nearby building and changed her clothes, "Alright, new powers. Let's see what you can do." She put on the domino mask and surged forward before jumping through the air with enough force to land on the building across the street.

Oh, she could _definitely_ get used to this.

It didn't take her long to find someone. Six guys in suits all beating on one dude who looked to be in his 40's, "Thought you could just go to the police, you rat bastard?!" The head kicked him in the ribs. Lana grit her teeth and jumped down. She hated bullies.

"Hey!"

They turned around just in time for the closest one to get dropkicked right into the wall, "Shit, it's one of them!" Another pulled out a gun from his coat pocket and she blasted his hand then legs. Guns and suits; probably Maggia.

Lana did a sweeping kick and knocked one of them to the ground before blasting another one's chest. He flew through the air and skidded along the end of the alley while she stomped on the prone one's face, "Fuck!" The second to the last started shooting. Lana rushed towards him in a burst of light and energy and tackled him hard. He flew through the air like his buddy and she rushed ahead again, grabbed his legs and slammed him to the ground.

Oh yeah, she could _definitely_ get used to this.

The last one fell on his ass and scrambled back in a panic. Lana looked around the alley and found the guy they were beating on gone. Oh well, least she had that fancy go pro to prove they were assholes.

The panicking suit scrambed for something from his coat. Her first thought was 'gun' and she immediately blasted his hand. The guy guy screamed and when she looked at what he dropped she raised a brow. Not a gun, but an inhaler of some kind, "Shit, you got asthma or something?" She almost felt bad knocking him out. Lana knelt down and picked up the dropped inhaler then twisted it to and fro. Didn't look like any brand she remembered.

Shuffling movement from behind drew her attention. When she pocketed the inhaler and looked back she found the guy whose right hand and legs she blasted scrambling through his own pockets before quickly pulling out his own inhaler and taking a huge puff.

She didn't know what she expected, but it definitely wasn't the guy's skin scabbing over with rock like a wizard from D&D. The guy stood up on his now unbroken legs and looked at her with bloodshot eyes before _roaring_ and charging at her.

Lana sidestepped the charge and kneed him in the gut only to almost fall from the sudden shock to her kneecaps. Felt like she was hitting a concrete wall, "Hell's in those things?" She rushed back and the guy tried for another punch. She caught his fist with both hands and grit her teeth. Fucker was _strong_, "You're goin' to the Raft when I'm done with you, fucker." She raised his fist then blasted him in the face.

Didn't work. The guy tackled her before she could dodge and they made it to the end of the alley before he tossed her into a parked taxi hard enough to dent the frame. Lana grunted as she impacted the yellow car and took a second to catch her breath, "My car!" Someone screamed to her left. She looked at the driver dryly and stood, the cuts from the broken glass and her shattered ribs already healing.

She gathered energy with both hands and glared at the guy with the suit. He looked back at her with his bloodshot eyes and lowered himself back down to charge.

And then he collapsed.

Lana almost thought she'd gone delirious. One second he was gonna charge her like a Rhino and the next he was flat on his face. She dispelled the energy from his hands and walked closer warily. Was it a trap? Having Pete or Spider-Gwen's sixth sense would've been real good right now.

He didn't so much as twitch when she knelt down and put two fingers to his neck, "No pulse..." Great, superpowers that killed you. She stood and pulled out the inhaler again. The sickly sweet smell was all too familiar: Terrigen Mist. The police were gonna want this.

She walked back to the almost crying driver and handed him a card, "Here. Initiative insurance." Every graduate got one. Helped cut down on the lawsuits when you had to wreck a car or a pipe to stop a villain.

She rubbed at the back of her torn coat and sighed as she heard sirens. This was gonna be a long day.

* * *

**Fantastic4Four: -embedded image-** Just saw Sue Storm at a local basketball game. Guess the rumors about her dating MVP are true.

**GenericUsername:** Doubt it. Haven't you heard? Bombshell and MVP are dating.

**Fantastic4Four: **That was disproved like a week ago dude.

**BlondesHaveNoFun:** Yeah. I mean, we all know Striker and Storm are the ones making out. They're WAY too close in those pics.

**GenericUsername: **Didn't she say she was straight when people asked?

**BlondesHaveNoFun: **They're obviously in the closet. Dunno why. It's 2018, chicas. No one cares if you're gay.

**ProfessorOdd:** Anyone recognize the other people around Storm and Bombshell?

**TeenagerAt30:** Probably just their groupies. Every hero has one.

**ProfessorOdd: **I dunno, the latina with the brown hair kinda looks familiar...

**TeenagerAt30: **You're thinking too much.

* * *

Harlem was a place Cindy never really found herself going to much. Back home her mom was insistent she go home if she wasn't going on hockey practice or on dates with Hector and after she got here she tended to stick around the other parts of Manhattan. There weren't much supervillains down here so most of the time she didn't have to worry about someone blowing up a gas station or something.

She could thank the protector of Harlem for that.

Cindy stepped out of Felicia's car and stretched her arms above her head. Another kidnapping, this time a child. Felicia shut the door behind her and followed Cindy up to the apartment of one Rio Morales. Her son Miles had been reported missing last night and after she mentioned that he was one of those who showed a reaction to the Terrigen Mist it'd been fast tracked to her.

She'd deal with Kurt's missing friends later. If she was right then this was all connected.

She was on the third floor when she looked back to Felicia. The silver haired popstar had been quiet ever since they met up again that morning. It didn't take much guessing to figure that it had something to do with Karen Page's deal with her. Cindy wanted to ask, but she didn't think it was her place. They weren't really that close.

Cindy stopped at the door and knocked, "Mrs. Morales? This is Cindy Moon from the NYPD. I'm here about your son." There was a rush of shuffling footsteps and a thin, older woman opened the door. Her hair was long and curly and it was clear from the state of her messy nurse's scrubs - still stained with flecks of blood and other fluids - and the bags under her eyes that she hadn't been sleeping.

"Y-You're here about Miles?"

"Yes. May we please come inside?"

The woman nodded gratefully and let them in. She was only mildly surprised to see Luke Cage sitting at the living room couch, "Hey, Luke." She gave him a strained smile, a gesture that he returned. He was probably here to do the same thing they were.

"You know each other?" Felicia asked, finally speaking up.

"We've had coffee." Felicia raised a brow and Cindy shook her head. Now wasn't the time. She turned her attention back to the grieving woman and and did her best to give a reassuring smile, "Mrs. Morales, could you tell us everything from the start?"

"Y-Yes." She sat at one of the chairs shakily and took a long, deep breath, "M-My son Miles didn't come home yesterday. He was spending time with his friend Ganke, they live across the street." She sniffled and wiped tears from her eyes, "I'm...Ganke said that he was fine when they said goodbye. It takes less than a minute to cross the street! I...I don't know how he could've been..."

"It's okay." Luke stood up and hugged her as she broke down.

Cindy smiled appreciatively and looked around the room. There were a lot of pictures, most of them with the two together. She picked up the framed photo and took in the kid's features. According to the report he was 9 years old. It only made her angrier. Who the hell kidnapped a _child? _"Is there anywhere else he could've gone, Mrs. Morales? Maybe a dad or relatives?" She took a picture on her phone and put the frame back down.

"N-No. His father...he's not in the picture, and I don't keep up with my relatives." She shut her eyes, "This is my fault. I should've-"

"Don't blame yourself." Surprisingly enough it was Felicia who said that, "I can tell by your state that you're overworked, especially since it's just you both. Don't worry, we'll find your son." Felicia's eyes softened and Cindy wondered just how much Mrs. Morales and her son reminder her of her own situation.

They said some final words to the distraught woman and left with Luke in tow. Luke waited till they were out on the street again before he growled in frustration, "We gotta find that kid."

"No arguments from me," Cindy said.

"Problem is where we should start." Felicia crossed her arms, "We need names and locations to begin our search."

"I know a guy," Luke grimaced, "Turk Barret, an opportunistic little rat. If anyone's kidnapping kids then he'll know where to start lookin'. Problem is he's gone underground and it'll take days to find him. We don't got that kinda time."

"Give me a couple of hours." Felicia smirked.

A couple of hours later and they were kicking down the door to his apartment, "What the fuck?!" The guy pulled up his boxers and while the woman who was between his legs scrambled away in fear. Prostitute by the looks of her, "Fuck, this is private property and I'm conductin' private business! Get the fuck outta here!"

Cindy looked at the woman on the floor and pulled out her prioricard, "Avengers business, Mr. Barret." Both his and the prostitute's eyes looked like they were going to pop out of their skulls, "I suggest your 'girlfriend' take her leave."

She didn't need to be told twice. The woman grabbed her coat and ran out like Wile E. Coyote chasing the roadrunner while Turk started sweating bullets. Getting a visit from the Avengers was practically the same as being put on the terrorist watchlist. Or because they wanted to do a charity thing. Either or.

"Man, shit..." He wiped his sweaty face and was too nervous to even grab for his pants, "What the fuck you want from me? I ain't done shit!"

"That's not what my contacts said." Felicia smiled, sickly sweet, "Selling drugs, arms dealing, a few robberies..."

"Not to mention that prostitute who just walked outta here," Cindy added cheerily, "You've got a pretty big rapsheet, Mr. Barret."

"Man, fuck off with this! Just tell me what the fuck you want!"

"This kid." Cindy pulled out her phone and showed him the picture of Miles, "Recognize him?"

He looked down and, despite what must have been a _herculean_ effort of epic proportions, his eyes widened in obvious recognition, "N-Nah, ain't never seen him before."

He didn't need Pete's busted spider-sense to tell the guy was lying, and evidently neither did Luke, "You're lying." He scowled down at the shivering man in his boxers. She didn't feel sorry for him, "Tell us where he is. Now."

"Hey, you ain't got nothin' on me! So just-"

Luke grabbed him by the shirt and dragged him to the window that led to the back alley. He shoved the window open then grabbed Turk's left leg and dangled him outside, "Last chance."

"Hey, hey, hey, hey! Shit!" He looked down(up?) at the unforgiving ground below. If he landed headfirst best case scenario was spending the rest of his life drooling, "Hey, hey! You just gonna let him do this?! Ain't you Avengers bitches supposed to be heroes?!"

Cindy narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms, "Calling people bitches really isn't a good way to beg for help," she replied, faux casual, "Now tell us where Miles and any other victims are or I'm going to let my friend here drop you on your head."

"Alright, fine! Fuck! Just pull me in!" Luke and Cindy shared a look before he pulled Turk back in and let him collapse next to the wall. The guy shivered and looked a hair's breath from peeing himself, "Okay, okay, just...I'll tell ya everything, but ya gotta promise me you don't go squealin' to the cops." More deals? Like Scorpion again? Cindy scowled, "Cause me? I'm just the middleman. Ain't did none of the heavy stuff."

Another load of BS. She shared a second look with Luke and nodded. The three of them just listened as he told them everything he knew. Scorpion was involved, much to her non-surprise, and eventually he listed down three locations where people were stashed. Three locations and three of them. Perfect.

"Right, now I told ya everythin', so just-"

Cindy tapped De Wolfe's number and put the phone against her ear, "Hey, Jean? I need you to come to this apartment on Brownstone avenue. I'll send you the details later."

Turk looked like he'd been slapped with a fish when she cut the call, "What the fuck?! You said-"

"I said I wouldn't report you for your human trafficking. I didn't say anything about everything else you did, particularly that woman who just walked out. Prostitution _is_ illegal, you know?" She webbed his hands and legs together then covered his mouth when he fell on his side, "And if the cops see about everything else you did? Well, that's not my fault."

He looked up at her screamed through the gag. Cindy just gave him another sickly sweet smile and walked out with with the others. They all quickly agreed to go to the separate areas alone to do it quicker. Cindy's ended up going to an off the way subway tunnel covered in graffiti, mold and cobwebs. Why did she always get the fun ones?

Spin-sense. She unholstered her pistol and jumped up to the roof just as two guards in suits carrying assault rifles rounded the corner. Yep, definitely the place, "Man, all this for just one kid?" The left one groused. Cindy furrowed her brows. One kid? Sounded like Miles, but what about any other victims? "Bossman's losin' it."

She grabbed the quiet one lagging behind by his head and arms and webbed him up to the roof with her. The chatty one finally noticed his buddy was missing just in time for Cindy to yank herself towards him and kick him the face. She webbed him to the wall and continued where they just came from. If there really was just Miles here then it made her job easier. She hoped Felicia and Luke found lead on their spots.

Four more goons. She took care of them easily enough. Cindy holstered her gun and placed a tracker on the wall. Police could arrest these guys cause she sure as hell wasn't hauling em out, "Miles?" She smashed the lock and pulled open the door roughly only to be met with a pipe that nearly clocked her in the face. She ducked under the makeshift weapon and grabbed her 'opponent'.

"Lemme go!" Miles kicked feebly and tried to loosen her grip. Cindy heaved a sigh of relief and set him down, "I'm not gonna-"

"It's okay. I'm here to take you back to your mom." She lowered her scarf so he could see her face in full. Cap said it helped calm them down, "She's been worried sick about you, so let's go back. Okay?"

He looked hesitant for a moment before eventually nodding. Cindy picked him up - the kid was tiny - with one hand and carried him out, "Don't look, okay?" At least one of the goons was bleeding out. Miles nodded and pressed his face to her shoulder with his eyes shut tight. She was almost to the end of the tunnel when her-spin sense blared. Someone was watching her.

She narrowed her eyes and put the scarf back up to her face. Couldn't fight, not like this. She had to get Miles out first.

A burst of purple came at the edge of her vision and she barely managed to step back to avoid the clawed swipe aimed at her face, "Shit!" She shot at the figure and started running down the tunnel a different way from where she came in. Cindy jumped over the chainlink gate and continued running as dull, metallic footsteps echoed behind her. Whoever it was they were fast.

"Wh-What's going on?!" Miles screamed.

"It'll be okay, just keep your eyes closed!" She made it to a far less run-down tunnel and swerved to the left as a large, looming shadow drew closer. If the tunnel was being used it meant a station had to be close by.

A bright light surged towards her and she barely had the time to mentally scream '_train!'_ before instinct took over and she jumped to the roof again. Cindy pressed herself tightly against the surface and kept Miles close till she was sure there was nothing below her anymore.

Cindy dropped down and when she looked back she finally got a good look at the one chasing them. The figure was tall and lanky with a black and purple suit that covered him from head to toe, masking all of his features. He looked back at her and brandished his clawed hands as he stepped off the wall.

She fired off two more shots - both of which he dodged - and kept running. Another train was coming, but she saw the light of the station ahead of them, "Almost there..." She pushed herself farther and jumped into the station floor just before the the train ran past to the tunnel. Everyone around her stared, "Run!" Cindy screamed. She set Miles down and looked back to the tunnel, "Get up to the streets! I'll keep him down here!"

"But-"

"Go!"

She practically shoved him to the stairs with the rest of the civilians smartly following. She didn't have to wait long before their stalker surged out of the tunnel like a ghost and came right for her.

Cindy dodged his slashes and was forced back by the quickness of the attacks. She waited for an opening before countering with her own kicks, which he also dodged or blocked. The guy was _fast_. Either he was another Gifted or that suit cost more than her entire Avengers salary.

She kicked him away, unholstered both guns and started firing rapidly as she slowly walked backwards. Stalker rolled back to avoid the hail of gunfire and she heard a low growl, "Not very chatty, are you? If you give up now I'll put in a good word for you." She reloaded both pistols quickly and he charged towards her. He swerved to the left as soon as she started firing and ran alongside the walls of the tunnel then the roof when she trained her guns on him again.

The guns were emptied again by the time he was on top of her. Stalker jumped down with both claws open and Cindy rolled back, both hands quickly returning the guns to their holsters and she took up a fighting position again. Stalker looked up and the eyes of his mask narrowed, "Fine, claws out." She smiled wryly and formed her webbing into sharpened tips.

He attacked first. Cindy dodged every strike and countered with her own. Her right hand slashed through his chest and he grabbed her outstretched arm, "Hands off." She headbutted him. It hurt more than she expected, but Stalker stumbling back was worth it. Cindy twisted his arm behind his back and slammed him on the ground before he quickly countered with a spin that sent her to the floor and him straddling her.

She moved her head to avoid the claws aimed at her eye and webbed him in the face. The purple stalker raised both hands to his head and she kicked his chest with both feet before scrambling back. He'd barely managed to pry the webbing off his face when Cindy webbed down his entire body in a thick blanket of webbing that left him wriggling on the floor.

Cindy put her hands on her knees and panted. The guy was tough. She walked towards him to pick him up when her spin-sense blared again, "What the-" Trails of smoke - acid - pushed through the webbing before Stalker ripped away the bindings like tissue paper and charged towards her. She didn't have enough time to dodge and they both flew through the air briefly before crashing back on the tracks.

The impact knocked the wind out of her briefly. Stalker was on top of her again and wrapped both hands around his neck to choke her, the claws digging into the flesh. Cindy grabbed both his hands and grit her teeth. No way was she going down like this.

The bright lights and the sounds of metal came from the right. Both their attentions snapped to the incoming train and she felt the purple bastard's grip loosen slightly, "Don't wanna miss your train." She webbed his face again and shoved him to the tracks before she shot multiple lines of webbing with both hands and pulled herself up back to the platform.

The sound of the passing train was practically deafening. Cindy kept lying on the ground and rubbed her bloody neck, her breaths coming out in strangled gasps. It'd heal soon enough, but she covered the finger sized holes anyway to stop the bleeding. She took a deep, painful breath, stood and looked back at the tracks.

The train was gone, and so was their stalker. No mashed remains, no wrecked tech...nothing. Cindy sighed and trudged up the stairs to the outside only to be met with a crowd of expectant civilians and, thankfully, Miles, "Show's over, folks." She grabbed Miles' shoulder, smiled and walked him back to the police station. Considering what just happened she'd need to put him and Mrs. Morales back to police custody. After that...

She'd call Luke because it's been a long day and she needed some damn coffee.

* * *

**DisasterArtist: -embedded video-** Managed to take a vid of Spinerette's fight with some purple villain!

**1984: **How the fuck did you get this?

**DisasterArtist:** Was hiding in the train platform across from where they were fighting and neither of them noticed me. Glad I stuck around!

**GracefulYetStupid: **Holy crap, look at how she fights! **#myfriendshipwithspiderwomanisover #nowspineretteismyfriend**

**DisasterArtist:** Oh yeah, love a woman who knows how to handle a pair of guns :3

**NormalPersonOnHere:** There's something weird to me about a Superhero using guns. Is that just me?

**GracefulYetStupid: **Makes sense to me. A guy who's a black belt in karate could still carry a gun, especially in a place like New York. Better to have it just in case. And she's _clearly_ trained, mmph.

**Spinerette: DisasterArtist**, next time please evacuate. I don't need your head on my conscience.

* * *

**Whew, this chapter was kinda hard due to the fight scenes. I originally planned to add a small segment with Peter and Gwen at the end but I decided to save it for the next chapter due to how long this was getting. That and one of the questions I'm asking at the end of this chapter can actually affect it so this is probably for the best.**

**Miles was also supposed to play a role by hitting Prowler with a Venom sting (his terrigenesis power). I cut it out cause I wanted Cindy to and Prowler to fight one-on-one and show her to be more adept rather than needing help from someone, especially a child. **

**And don't worry, just cause Miles is here doesn't mean this is now a Miles Morales fic. He does play a role in Cindy's scorpion plotline, but he's a side-character at best. **

**Questions:**

**1\. Does the story feel too stretched thin? I already had complaints of this nature in V1 when the protagonists were just Noir and Gwen but now we have 5 different protagonists; MJ especially due to her originally being a supporting character for Gwen before her Carnage Scarlet Spider plotline resonated well with readers. **

**2\. Should Gwen join Noir's group during their fights with the Hand, at least sometimes? In-universe I can see her doing it but meta-wise the extreme power disparity between her, Noir's group and the Hand themselves would render this comical since nothing the Hand can do can hurt her. The only thing holding her from roflstomping is her refusing to just kill them. **

**3\. Should I tone down the Noir/Gwen mushy stuff? I can't help but feel like while everyone's out doing plot stuff these two are just making kissy faces at each other.**

**Review Answers:**

**Raw Prodigy - Basically like DMC 5 Neros' DT arms. **

**Noisy-Cricket - If you want ethereal arms then vote for it :P **

**SpiderGod76 - Kinda. It's basically as canon as them mentioning the Skrull invasion; it happened, but no exact details are given.**

**DunkDaddy77 - Sadly he can't buy bikes. No license and being legally dead tends to do that.**

**Brave2000 - Isn't Felicia being less of a nutcase a good thing? Also, no, I have enough characters that I don't need Morbius. Daimon fulfills his role well enough.**

**Roxasdualwielder - Not particularly.**

**Guest ch17 - Take note that Original Noir was also 18 when he was taken to Earth-65, so that's not really an excuse for 65-Noir's maturity.**

**JK41Kiwi - Except his motorcyle can't go in the air, so all Gwen has to do is stand on the side of a building and wait. Mobility wise she beats Noir hands down to her enhanced traversal. **

**Guest - No idea why people keep asking for Gwen vs Noir since they only ever physically fought once early on. **

**Cha0s4Ever - Postponed the Mayday omake for a bit.**

**Mack006 - Noir isn't much more 'normal' now. He still kills people and he still deals primarily with the supernatural while allied to morally ambiguous individuals. It's rather telling that Daimon Hellstrom is one of the least questionable allies he has. **


	19. Three Spiders

**This update took a while. I'm so lazy :( **

**Current votes: 9 for scientific/magical/demonic gadgets, 7 for wallcrawling and webswinging and 5 for more mystical abilities/Spider Trigger. I'll keep the poll up for a few more days after this update then switch it out for the one asking which love interest MJ should have****.**

**I'm considering writing the Moon Knight oneshot prequel once I finish the Mayday omake. We'll see. **

**Side note - I've been getting people who write their votes in comments. If you have a vote, _please use the poll_. It's on top of my profile and it's faster than typing a review. **

* * *

_Jameson: Now I've been getting some accusations that I'm a bigot. That the only reason I'm railing against the likes of Spider-Woman and her ilk are because I'm 'racist' against the Gifted._

_Well I'm here to tell you that you're WRONG! It's not because they have powers, it's because they're MENACES! Think about madmen like the so-called Moon Knight or that mass murderer 'The Punisher', who sounds like a villain from one of those 'adult' cartoons you kids are into nowadays. They don't have powers, but they're just as dangerous to themselves and others around them._

_Or what about a young woman by the name of Abigail Boylen, commonly known by the alias Cloud 9? She has powers - creating clouds to fly, according to her 'posts' - and she uses it to work a job in pizza delivery and courier work to help support herself and her family. Now THERE's someone who's doing good! Why can't everyone else follow her example and leave the crime fighting to the professionals? _

_Oh, we just got a caller. You're on with J. Jonah Jameson!_

_Caller: Yeah, hey. First off aren't the Avengers deputized and everything? Doesn't that make them professionals?_

_Jameson: Maybe for SOME of them. Captain America and Wasp are experienced heroes who've proven themselves, but the others? That 'entertainer' She-Hulk? The daughter of that billionaire running around with a bow and arrow? And the less said about Spider-Woman and Spinerette, the better!_

_Caller: Spinerette's working with the cops, though. And she helped save that kid who got kidnapped._

_Jameson: And she did it in a way that so conveniently left her as the sole person to ensure this innocent child would be safe. Did she think the cops were incompetent or is she just so obsessed with glory that she's willing to put an innocent at risk? Frankly, madam, your not seeing this makes me question your mental faculties._

_Caller: Good to know. Oh, and I'm Abigail Boylen, by the way. Good to know you _really _think I'm an idiot._

_Jameson: ...Jared, cut the call! I said cut it!_

* * *

Gwen swung down a short distance away from the homeless encampment and quickly shifted back into her casuals, making sure her face was different from regular old Gwen Stacy. Peter was here and he made it very clear he didn't want Spider-Woman making any unscheduled appearances.

The homeless here weren't much fans of her, according to Peter. Apparently being put up on billboards and making TV appearances caused them to resent her as one of the 'big people', just one of the ones on high looking down through their noses. Her rich heiress image from the comic didn't help. She couldn't help but feel sort of offended at the thought. Sure she wasn't a nun or anything, but the only reason she did those damn charity shows (apart from seeing those kids' smiles) was cause it got donations.

She didn't do it for fun, especially not with those big money types looking at her like a piece of meat on auction.

_'Oh well, nothing you can do about it.'_ With a soft sigh the blonde walked across the makeshift village to where she knew Peter would be. A few of the milling bums gave her a few looks but made no move to actually stop her. It wasn't like she was the first 'outsider' to step foot in here. She made sure to stop and drop a Benjamin near an old woman's sleeping bag. Poor lady didn't even have a shack or a tent.

She stopped and smiled when she saw him. Peter was kneeling next to a group of people and handing out various amounts of corner store food and drinks. His head was covered in a thick hood so she could only see the lower half of his face, but it was clear from the smile that he was in good spirits. Better that none of them knew who he was, or so he said.

A short distance away she caught Norah and Murdock's mom - god, that still felt weird to think about - helping one of the older residents with a leg wound. Gwen stepped closer and overheard Norah, "Come on, Jenkins, deep breath! Just hold still for a second more so we can fix your leg." The blonde smiled and held on to the bearded man's shoulders while Murdock's mom grabbed his bent left leg and twisted it with a sickening crack.

The old man grunted and screamed out a string of curses. The nun continued to fix up his leg while Norah let go of his shoulder, picked up a bottle and handed it to him. Booze by the looks of it, "Heh, thanks..." Old man Jenkins took a quick sip of the alcohol.

"No prob. Just make sure to answer some questions when you're healed up." Norah grinned at him then finally took notice of her, "Oh, hey! Whatcha doing down here from atop your lofty tower?"

"Very funny, Norah." Gwen rolled her eyes and, before she could make her own well-thought out and supremely intelligent comeback, an all too familiar barking reached her ears and the (somehow still tiny) pug _zipped _around the corner and immediately started scratching at her ankles with a giant grin on his face.

**'My better half returns.'**

_'We need to wean you off of those late night shows, little lady. They're a bad influence on you.'_

**'That's right. Blame Webflicks, not your great influence and our relationship that I wouldn't trade for anything in the world. Not even chocolate.'**

_'...It's scary that I have no idea if you're being sarcastic or not.'_

**'Good.'**

Gwen walked around the corner out of sight and, when she was reasonably sure no one was looking, let Webster slink out so she could have her pow wow with pugface, "Don't let anyone see you," she whispered. Webster 'nodded' and Gwen stood up and walked to where Peter was sitting and talking with a man maybe a decade older than him, if that.

"Max, hey." He smiled up at her and she sat next to him. She had to admit she felt like a stranger here, but it wasn't too bad, "This is John. John, this is Max."

"Nice to meet you." She grinned at him and shook his hand. Max...well, it wasn't the worst fake name she could think of.

"This that girl you keep talkin' about, Ben?" The man asked with a grin of his own.

"Ooh, you talk about me? Do tell."

"It's nothing. Just...talk about the people in our lives." Peter coughed and looked to the older man pointedly, "Besides, we were talking business."

"Right, right..." John sighed.

"What's going on?" Gwen asked.

"You saw Jenkins over there." Peter gestured to the old man who was currently busy talking to Norah, "He didn't break his own leg. There's been a bunch of punks running around here. Apparently they get their jollies beating on the homeless. They broke Jenkins' leg when he tried to get them to stop."

Gwen's face knotted in disgust, "Assholes. But, shouldn't the police be handling this?"

"Girl, you ain't been around the Kitchen much, have you?" John laughed derisively, "Cops don't care about us. Even if Ms. Page got us rights to stay here - squattin' laws and all - they got more important things to do than play bodyguard to a buncha bums. That and the head honcho of these guys is some rich boy. Daddy gets him whatever he wants so even if we do call the cops it ain't gonna do nothin'."

"That's..." Wrong. Wrong, wrong, _wrong_. So what if they were homeless? It didn't mean assholes had free rein to do whatever they wanted with them.

Peter got all the details and the two of them went elsewhere so they could talk alone, "I thought this place was supposed to get better after we killed that demon..." Peter muttered, "...I know I said I'd come have dinner at your house, but maybe you should go ahead?"

"What are you going to do to them?"

"Make sure they can't use that baseball bat they used to cripple Jenkins."

The implicit threat was enough for her. Gwen took a deep breath and put a hand on his shoulder, "Right, how about we do this another way?" He looked back at her and she held up both hands, "I'm not saying your way is wrong, okay? But let me try something first, a way so that the people here don't get fucked over by some rich kid's daddy with a vendetta." She held up the miniature camera and smiled wryly, "Sometimes there are some benefits to having to film everything."

"What, you think a public shaming's going to work?"

"For a lot of these guys? Yeah, it's basically suicide. And if it doesn't work then we can do it your way. I just want a chance to try and help. The last time I did it when you...took a break I ended up just making an ass of myself." It was a bitter reminder that being a friendly neighborhood hero didn't work out everywhere. The war with HYDRA they had came to mind.

"...Alright, but I'll stay close."

A few hours later and it was barely past sundown. Gwen crouched on a nearby rooftop and and narrowed her eyes as four guys strolled into the encampment like they owned it. She was tempted to swing down right then and there, but she knew she needed proof. Beating him up wouldn't help. He'd just come crying to mommy and daddy then who knew what'd happen to the people at the encampment. They needed to do this better.

"Hey, anybody home!" The ringleader couldn't have been younger than 30 but from what she heard from the others he acted maybe half of that. His designer leather jacket and gelled hair looked massively out of place even compared to his cronies, who looked far more dressed down, "Come on, I wanted to see how that old man was doin'! Brought flowers and everything!"

Gwen grit her teeth as old man Jenkins walked up to him with crutches. It was his idea to do this, "Ain't nothin' for you here. Get lost."

"Ooh, big talk comin' from a guy who can't even stand up straight." The cocky bastard actually kicked one of the crutches away and Jenkins fell on his side. Gwen recorded everything, "You listen to me, ya old fuck, ya don't talk shit to me. You know who I am, huh?! You want me to break your other leg?!" His cronies spread out and began to drag people from their tents and shacks.

That was enough. Gwen swung down behind them and said loudly, "Gentlemen! What's going on here?" she asked, face casual. All four of them turned around and leader's face turned white as a sheet when he saw her. Typical bully; didn't want to fight someone who could hit back. The people who got dragged from their homes used the shock as a chance to knock the cronies off and run out of sight.

"Shut...uh, nothin! Just..." Ringleader looked at old man Jenkins and knelt down, "Just helping this old man out."

He couldn't even be bothered to not look disgusted as he helped him up. The old bum gave the entitled bully a death glare and yanked his arm back so he could stand on his own. Gwen narrowed her eyes in a doubting look, "Really? Cause it looks to me that you were assaulting him and threatening to 'break his other leg'. And trying to do something bad to others here. You maybe wanna tell the truth or should I ask him instead?" She looked to old man Jenkins.

"He...He's been comin' here for weeks, attacking anyone cause he thinks he can get away with-"

"Fuck, they're just bums!" Ringleader screamed. She found it more than a little weird that his cronies didn't say anything or even try to slink away, "Look, it ain't a big fucking deal. Just turn around and walk away. Don't you have some cats to save or something?"

"So you want me to just turn around and pretend I didn't just see you assault this guy? That about right?" she asked back, voice dripping heavy with sarcasm, "Better idea. Why don't you come with me to the police station so you can explain to the police why you should be allowed to get away with assaulting innocent people."

For a second she thought the guy would be stupid enough to throw a punch. Instead he ran past her with his cronies right behind him, all of them splitting off into different directions. Gwen sighed and, without turning around shot two lines of webbing behind her and caught two of the cronies in the back before tugging them to the floor. The third and last cronie suddenly stopped and fell to the ground convulsing. Norah stepped out from behind a nearby shack and holstered her tazer gun with a grin.

Ringleader was almost out when Peter appeared in a wisp of smoke, grabbed him by the collar and headbutted him. A couple of teeth flew off, but she didn't feel too bad for him, "Nice one." Norah grinned and Gwen gave her the camera, "I'll make sure everyone knows exactly what Mr. Justin Hammer here was getting up to in his free time."

"Hammer's a big name in this place. Sure his daddy won't just buy the press off?" Peter asked.

"They can try, but Robbie's gotten threats from the Maggia before. A CEO isn't gonna be the breaking point." She pocketed the camera, "Besides, I'm pretty sure Tony Stark's going to be really invested in making sure this makes the news. His business rival covering up his son assaulting the homeless? It's Christmas come early for him."

"Right...well, I'll go check on Jenkins and the others then we can go."

Peter made sure all of them were alright and, after saying their goodbyes, they made the walk back the train station for Queens. Gwen held onto his right hand and squeezed it, "Remember, your promised to teach me how to cook." Her mom and the Parkers were leaving in a few hours back to France.

"How could I forget? I've been preparing my will ever since you asked me." She slapped the back of his head and pouted. She wasn't _that_ bad; she only burned her toast (and her toaster...and the fridge) one time! "Come on, we gotta get started if you wanna surprise them."

An hour later Gwen, Peter and Webster were in her kitchen and locked the door to keep anyone else from interrupting. Peter suggested something simple - spaghetti, garlic bread and some French dessert she couldn't pronounce, "Pass me that bowl, Webs." Webster slithered under the far-off bowl, lifted it then waddled over to where she was mixing together the sauce. Even she couldn't mess this up.

Peter was close by and mixing the chocolate cream. Webster set the bowl down next to her then slithered over to him and peeked over the edge at the brown confection. She could smell it from here, "Hey, none of that." Peter lightly smacked the blob's head when she tried to dip down and lick.

**"I'm hungry..."**

"It'll taste better when we finish."

**"But..."**

Peter sighed and, without taking his hand off the bowl, pulled out a smaller bowl from another cabinet and set it down next to Webster, "Here are the leftovers."

**"Thank you. I can see why Gwen loves you."**

"Yeah, yeah..."

Gwen's lips curled up in a smile at the absurdity of the situation. Here they were - Spider-Man and Spider-Woman - preparing a meal for her family, which included her step-mom with super strength, her birth mom who came back from the dead and her dad, Ben and May who survived way too much the last year. All while her other partner took a chocolate bath like Miser McChicken.

And despite it all it felt normal and she was happy. She wouldn't have traded this for all the celebrity dinners and and cheering crowds in the world.

Soon enough they were all sitting on the living room and watching an episode of Catching Predators...featuring Spider-Woman. Yeah, she let Shulkie talk her into it a couple of months ago. She'd actually forgotten all about it - always more things to do - till her mom suddenly brought it up and even came with a freaking disc, cause apparently she still hadn't gotten the memo that everything was online now.

TV her dropped down from a web behind a guy, "Hey, what's up? Why don't you have a seat right over there?" She almost felt bad for the guy when he started begging about how he didn't want to go to jail. Then she had to read their messages, constant dick pics and found out that almost all of them had condoms, alcohol, a switchblade (_that_ wasn't supposed to be there, he said) and, bizarrely, lemonade.

The less said about the guy who brought _his own kid_, the better...

Gwen leaned against Peter and smiled. Her mom was to Peter's left and she was holding onto Helena while the baby occasionally giggled and tapped at the older Stacy's face. Peter ocassionally glared down at the little Spider-Man tsum that Helena still refused to part with.

If she could frame one thing this would've been it. Just her and the people she loved having stupid fun without a care in the world.

The 45 minute mark had passed and TV her was interviewing a guy who claimed to be meeting a 70 year old when Peter excused himself and left for the backyard. Gwen followed after him with only a little hesitation and found him sitting on the porch with a cigarette between his lips. She really didn't like that habit of his.

"Hey...something wrong?" She sat to his right.

"Just thinking about the people in the encampment. Ever since Martin...died it's really only been sister Maggie who goes in to help them. Summers helps here and there, but still." He sighed, "Maybe I need to ask Page another favor."

"Just take it slow, Pete. There's no need to carry the world on your shoulders."

"That's rich coming from you." He laughed softly and tapped the end of the cigarette, just watching the ashes fall down to the wood, "...You've been telling me you want me to enroll in ESU. "

"Yeah...why, are you thinking about it?" She couldn't stop herself from sounding hopeful at that. He raised the cigarette to take another drag and she grabbed it out of his hand before crushing it in her fist. No distractions, "You were saying?"

"Try to be normal, you say..." He frowned, "...Look, if we really wanna do that then I can't just take classes. I mean, who'd pay for it?"

"I could-"

"No," he interrupted quickly, "It's something I've been thinking about for a while. You know how I paid for my old place." Taking from some of the criminals he stopped. She didn't hold it against him. She'd seen firsthand that he didn't splurge and the place itself was, pardon her for being judgy, and absolute craphole, "I've been getting asked recently what my plans are. If I'm just going to keep being Spider-Man forever."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that...maybe I should be Peter Parker too," he said slowly, "Or Ben Reilly or whatever name I come up with. Cindy's made a life for herself here so I'm thinking I should too." He let go of her hand and rubbed his stubbled jaw, "That means being more than just Spider-Man and waiting for the clock to tick down before I put on the mask again."

"So...you _are_ going to ESU?"

"Maybe at some point. First things first, I need a job." He laughed wryly at that, "Mary's working at the theatre. Maybe I could ask her to recommend me...assumin' no one recognizes my ugly mug."

"You could always join the Initiative. Like Lana."

"Only reason that worked out for her is cause her waste of skin dad's the mayor. Killing that bastard in Times Square got me some leeway, but I don't wanna push it. Besides..." He smirked, "I was never really good at the Superhero gig."

"I disagree." She held his hand again, "You can still go to ESU. I don't mind paying your tuition."

"_I_ mind."

She huffed out an annoyed breath. He was so _stubborn_, him and MJ both. She tugged him towards her and kissed him, ignoring the lingering taste of nicotine on his tongue. It took a while but she was finally getting used to the idea that he was here to stay. Sure things were still fucked in some ways - Murdock and his old ninja pals came to mind - but they could fix that.

Gwen barely deepened the kiss before she heard a crash back in the living room. She and Peter practically had to step over each other to get there first and when they both arrived she froze.

"Evening, Ms. Stacy." Murderdock turned his head slightly in her direction and smiled. Her dad and Jess looked furious while her mom kept back and held Helena tightly while Ben and May stood guard in front of her, "I came to pick up Peter for an excursion, I'm afraid I interrupted your get-together. My apologies."

"Matt..." Peter looked like he was about to shoot him right between the eyes. Gwen wouldn't have stopped him.

"You weren't picking up your phone, so I got worried." He looked to her mom and Helena with a smile, "I'm glad you're doing well, Helen. None the worse for wear from last year's events? And is that your namesake you're holding? I can't see her, but I assume she's adorable. All babies are apparently.."

Seeing him talk to her mom and Helena like he was an old friend was the last straw. Gwen saw red and, before she knew what she was doing, she grabbed Murdock with both hands; one on his collar and the other on his arm,** "Don't talk to them!"** She twisted him around by his right arm, breaking it again in the process, and dragged him to the backdoor before throwing him through it painfully.

Murderdock rolled across the ground and she was already on him, one foot stomping his neck even as his remaining good arm feebly gripped her ankle. It would've been _so easy_ to press down just a little more and snap the bone entirely, "Gwen-" Peter put a hand on her arm and when she turned to look at him her eyes were inhumanly wide and white while veins ran along her neck up to her jaw. Her open snarl showed fanged teeth.

"...I think I upset her, Peter." Murderdock smiled through his bloody teeth.

**'Calm down, Gwen. He's not a danger.'**

Peter pulled her back before she could stomp his face, "I need him alive." He looked ill as he was saying it. Gwen let Peter pull her back and took a deep breath to calm herself. Her face went back to normal and she could only thank small fortunes that everyone else stayed inside. She didn't want them to see her like that, so out of control and ready to break her own code. Even if that bastard deserved it.

Murderdock stood up shakily and spat out a bloody wad of saliva, "Well, that was-" Peter punched him in the face. Hard. Somehow he managed to stay upright after stumbling back, though his right arm still hung uselessly. Good. He deserved it.

Footsteps came from behind. Gwen looked back and saw three more figures step over the broken (gonna have to pay for that...) door, two of which she recognized. Moon Knight and Iron Fist she knew, but the third one was a mystery to her. A woman in a dark, patchwork ninja costume with a katana held in her hand. Iron Fist stayed back to talk with her dad and Jess while the remaining two walked closer to them.

"Ms. Stacy." Moon Knight nodded. The ninja woman moved her shoulders a bit and didn't look at her. Rude.

"...Hope no one saw you walk up to my house," she muttered back bitterly. The last thing she needed was anyone making connections.

"We took precautions. It helps that this place is oddly barren at night." Moon Knight turned to Peter, "Come, we must deal with Sowande."

"Found him already?"

"Mercenaries being hired en masse tend to make waves." Murderdock rubbed his jaw and let out a soft breath, "It probably helps that you have a bounty on your head. Makes soldiers of fortune very eager to risk their lives."

"You have a what?!" She rounded to Peter and he stepped back at the loudness of her voice, "You have a bounty?! Since when?!"

"Damn it, knew I forgot something..." Peter muttered, looking _way_ less worried than he should have been.

"You forgot?!"

"I've been dealing with a lot of things. Between the demons, Bullseye coming back and dealing with Page it honestly just slipped my mind. I wasn't hiding it from you." She narrowed her eyes at him and he held up both hands, "I didn't lie to you, I promise."

"Fuck..." She rubbed both her temples and shut her eyes, trying to calm herself, "Alright, fine. How big is it?" Probably wasn't much if it really slipped his mind.

"It's just-"

"30 million dollars." Both their heads snapped to Murderdock, Gwen's with utter shock while Peter sported a murderous glare, "That's only the current bounty, mind you. Given this we can assume it's someone with a personal grudge. The government didn't give that much of a bounty for Crossbones and he was Red Skull's main enforcer."

"30 million-" Webster moved Gwen's arm to cover her mouth so her scream could be muffled. Moon Knight just watched passively while Ninja Girl sighed and nudged her head, indicating she wanted to go, "30 million dollars?!" she said in a harsh whisper, "Are you fucking kidding me?!"

"I only found out a week ago, and after that we dealt with Blackout and Bullseye stabbed me in the gut. Didn't seem immediate." He glared at Murderdock again. The blind bastard just shrugged without a care, "I don't see how it's much different. People already want my head, money or not. We live dangerous lives."

She sorely wanted to disagree, but she couldn't. She knew exactly what he meant. The same way her dad's badge was a symbol it was also a target. Every time she put on the mask she was just inviting people to shoot at her, "...I still don't like this." That didn't mean she was wrong to worry about her boyfriend a_ 30 million_ price tag on his head. She crossed her arms and looked to Moon Knight, "Where are you all going, anyway?"

"Sowande, one of the Fingers of the Hand. He uses mercenaries as his main source of manpower. I heard tells of a gathering taking place in Brooklyn and we plan to cut off the head of the snake while we have the chance."

"Then I'm coming with you-"

"No-"

"Fuck off," she countered immediately, surprising even Moon Knight, "I just found out my boyfriend has a price on his head and you want me to, what, sit on my ass do nothing. Did you forget I'm Spider-Woman?"

"No one doubts your abilities, Ms. Stacy. I daresay you're stronger than all of us here combined," Murderdock said. She didn't even bother to look at him, "However, we don't need overwhelming power. Make no mistake: we're planning an assassination. Sowande is too influential to leave alive, and we need to maintain a low profile during this. Having Spider-Woman goes against that."

"Says the guy running around dressed like a devil," she spat back.

"He does have a point," Peter muttered, "The last thing you need is to get tied into this mess. Wouldn't look very good for Spider-Woman or the Avengers." Gwen grit her teeth. Captain America warned her multiple times she was already pushing her luck just hanging out with Peter in the open despite him technically still being a wanted vigilante. The only reason she hadn't gotten into more trouble was because of the built-up goodwill.

"But..."

"There's something else I could use your help with. You heard the name Roxxon before?" She nodded slowly, "The first stooge that came after me said the one ponying up the dough for this is Roxxon corp. Must be someone high up on the chain if they can afford so much."

"You think I can do this?"

"You have a better chance than I do with that fancy Avengers card." Peter smiled wryly, "We'll deal with Sowande then we can deal with the bounty. Okay?"

"...I still don't like this." She looked pointedly at Murderdock who just continued to smile, "Make sure to call me when you finish, okay?"

"Promise."

She shared a quick embrace with him and then watched them all go. Poor Iron Fist went last, still apologizing to everyone inside for Murderdock's fucked up behavior. Gwen went inside and immediately went to her mom and Helena, "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine..." The older Stacy's words were shaky, "I just...I didn't expect to ever see him again. I mean I saw the news, but..." She held Helena tighter. Her little sister had gone quiet and looked close to crying.

"Why's Peter working with that...monster?" May asked softly.

"It's...It's a long story." One she didn't want to share if she could. She sighed and turned to Jess, "Jess...I need your help with something."

* * *

**HtForTic: **So real talk, anyone notice that Spider-Woman got _way_ stronger like a year ago? Like before it was just webswinging, wall crawling and the occasional car lifting. Now she can toss trains and make tentacles and shit.

**lIshYTiOn**: Yeah. She didn't say anything about it, but she definitely got a power up. Where do you guys think she got it?

**ThatDoesn'tAddUpt: **She said she got bit by a radioactive spider a year ago, right? Then again we know the whole 'me and Spinerette got bit at the same time' thing is bull cause Spinerette's from another dimension.

**STRAtERGYNa: **Not surprised they had to lie about some stuff. I mean, you never know who might be listening in. Imagine if every criminal knew what Spider-Woman's webbing was made out of and made counters to it?

**PHERab0LE: **So? Cops run around with open identities and standard issue gear, why can't she?

**STRAtERGYNa: **Cops don't have to deal with Supervillains, my dude. Remember the Carnage Killer and Jack-o-Lantern? It wasn't the cops that stopped them.

**OpERnOuST:** Off topic, but anyone else think Spider-Man might be from another dimension too? I know they said he was Peter Parker but he acted way different for a while there.

**ThatDoesn'tAddUpt:** Yeah, next you're gonna say Matt Murdock became a hero or something.

**OpERnOuST:** Just a thought.

**HtForTic: **So no clue why Spider-Woman's got tentacles now? Back to the drawing board, I guess...

* * *

She got the modeling gig.

MJ sat at the edge of the tall building and continued to look down at the letter. She read through the paper again to make sure she got it right, "Congratulations, Ms. Watson. You successfully passed the audition and..." And it went on and on, but the basic gist of it was clear: she was a model now and she could expect to get called in within the week for jobs.

It was an odd feeling. One part elated and the other with spiders in her stomach. She'd really only taken the gig because of the upfront cash deal and to give her dad some time, though lord only knew why she even cared about that guy. She always expected to find him either face down in an alley or in a jail cell.

**_'What's the big deal?'_ **Crimson groused, **_'You're already playing hero with Stacy and you have that band again. Do you need even _more _attention?'_**

_'Shut it.' _She pulled out an envelope from her 'pocket' and looked at the contents. A few thousand dollars, at least. The letter said it was a signing bonus. Personally she thought Kingsley was just a bit too loose with his cash, but she wasn't going to complain. That and the guy was one of those quirky people. The kind of people who'd be called weird if they didn't have money to burn.

Time to pay back her dad's debt.

She pressed her phone against her ear and called Mr. Southern Accent. He had an actual name, Fancy Dan or some crap, but she wasn't gonna call him that, "Hey there, sweetheart? Feelin' lonely?" She rolled her eyes. Despite his assurance that 'favors' weren't on the table he sure loved to make comments about his 'feelers'. It was too bad he made her skin crawl; he actually wasn't that bad looking.

"I've got the rest of that money. Where do you wanna meet?"

"That soon? Damn, you models make the big bucks, huh?"

"Just tell me where we're doing the exchange before I change my mind and let that piece of shit out to dry."

"Ooh, sounds like there are issues there." He whistled, "Well, don't matter to me none. Let's meet up in front of daddy dearest's place. Sure you wanna tell him the good news when we've finished our little transaction." Something about the way he said that last part rubbed her wrong. Brushing it off, Mary Jane put on her mask and swung over to the ratty neighborhood her dad lived.

She changed into a tanktop, jeans and sneakers and waited for the guy to show. It took about 10 minutes before he finally got there, purple suit and all, "Kept you waitin' long, darlin'?" She narrowed her eyes and practically shoved the envelope into his chest. A shame to see it all go, but she just wanted to finish this. She'd have to keep doing the theater gig for a while.

"There. We're finished."

She turned to walk away when he suddenly called out, "Oh, hold on a second, sweetheart." Ugh, what was with the nicknames? She turned around and watched him meticulously count the hundred dollar bills before frowning. Not a good sign, "This is a good stack ya got here, but I'm afraid it's not enough."

"What? No, I counted it! You have-"

"Enough for the initial debt. But ya see, ol Philly cheese steak there borrowed more a couple days ago." The words didn't take long to sink in and she was shocked silent. Mr. Southern Accent took it as cue to continue, "I know, I was surprised too! But since you started payin' off his debts his credit was good again and he was so sure he'd get a hot streak at this new place. He didn't, if you were curious."

"...How much does he owe you now?"

"Oh, about 10,000 dollars. That's _after_ this payment, by the by. He did not a have good run."

To say Mary Jane was livid was an understatement. She'd agreed to bail him out and he just went back into it; just like she _knew_ (should have known) he would. White-hot fury surged through her and she turned and stomped up to his apartment, ignoring Southern Accent calling out that he expected the next payment as soon as possible. She was pissed, both at him and herself. What did she expect to happen? Why did she think anything different?

_**'I told you we should have killed him.'**_

"Hey, open up!" She knocked on the door hard enough to crack the surface of the wood. It was a small miracle she hadn't broken it down entirely, "I said open up!" She screamed louder. No one bothered to look out and check on the noise. Place like this, it wasn't rare.

Nothing. Mary Jane grit her teeth and, losing all patience, kicked the door down straight off its hinges. She heard two screams and she wished she was surprised when she saw her dad and _another_ prostitute on the bed. She could only thank small mercies that his pants were still on, "Out!" She jerked her thumb to the door. The older woman, whose skin showed the telltale sign of meth use, looked like she was tempted to argue before thinking better of it and scurrying out of the door.

"Mary Jane-"

She didn't let him finish. The irate redhead grabbed him by his jaw and smashed him against the wall, hand covering his mouth and keeping him from talking. Red flesh covered the skin of her hand and she felt the veins run up her neck, "You useless piece of shit!" she hissed, her grip around the lower of his face tightening, "I try to help you and you just waste it! Again!"

He tried to say something, but his words came out muffled and garbled. It was obvious by where his eyes looked that he saw Crimson seeping out.

"I dunno what I expected. Maybe I thought I'd give you another chance, or that I felt guilty for what I did." The tip of her fingers and pierced skin and blood dribbled down her hand,**_ "I'm done. Enjoy that grave you dug yourself."_**

She let him drop to the ground. He fell on his ass and looked up at her, gaping and gasping. Mary Jane stared down at him coldly and turned around. Crimson whispered in her ear, urged her to rip his jaw off, but she ignored it. He was a dead man walking anyway.

Mary Jane was halfway to the exit when he finally managed to speak, "It was you..." She stopped and didn't turn around, "A year ago, that monster who tried to kill me...it was _you_."

He thought she'd feel guilty. _Mary Jane _thought she'd feel guilty too. Instead her mouth curled up in a sneer and she finally turned to look at him, "Yeah. And I almost wish I went through with it." The coldness in her words surprised even her, "You're a worthless waste of skin, 'dad', and I'm done bailing you out. Don't talk to me, mom or Gayle again or I'll come back and finish the job."

"I'll...I'll tell-"

"Who? The cops? The papers?** _Who'd believe you?_**" She laughed, soft and forced, "Do you know how many people talk about how they have powers or how they're related to someone special? You're a drunk 'author' who couldn't write a book to save his life. They'll just think you're another crazy asshole who drank too much. No, you aren't blackmailing me and I'm done listening to you."

"They'll kill me..." He looked so pathetic, face scrunched up and seconds from bawling. She almost felt sorry for him.

Almost.

"Good luck with that."

Mr. Southern Accent was gone by the time she got down. She texted him that her dad could handle his own debts and to lose her number before changing back in the alley and swinging through the air again. She felt...good. She left her dad to die and she felt _good_. Was it wrong for her to feel that way?

**_'That was fun.'_**

_'Don't start.'_

_**'What? I'm being serious.' **_She rolled her eyes and landed on a nearby high building, '**_It would've been better if you killed him, but this was fun too. I thought you'd just help him out again.'_**

_'And why the hell would I do that?'_

**_'It's what Stacy would have done.'_**

Her mouth twitched and she just barely held herself back from punching the ground in sudden frustration. Would Gwen have saved her piece of shit of a 'dad'? She hated the idea of people dying, but she never let supervills with sob stories go just cause they had a bad childhood.

And she never had to deal with a useless sack of shit of a dad. Captain Stacy was a lot of things, but he wasn't a bad father. She always envied her, Glory and Betty for that. All of them had great relationships with their dads. They didn't have to look back at memories like being taught how to ride bikes and think about how tainted those images had become later or wonder if he ever really cared or just pretended to.

Well, it wasn't her problem anymore.

**_'What do you say we get back to business?'_**

_'If you mean killing then no, don't push your luck.' _She hadn't talked to Norah in days. She was scared she'd be tempted to slide back into old habits when she inevitably asked about the people that slipped through the cracks.

**_'But why not?'_ **The whine in its voice almost made her laugh.

_'Because I don't want to.' _Not yet, she didn't say, but they both knew it was implied.

Her argument was cut off when she saw a shadowy figure swinging between two low buildings. Gwen going on patrol? Either her or Cindy. Still better than spending the night alone, at least. The figure stopped on top of a small office building and Mary Jane swung down. If they were going on patrol then she could tag along. It'd help take her mind off of da- _Philip_.

The first thing that came to mind when she got a closer look was that it wasn't Gwen or Cindy. The Black Cat turned around when she landed and her lips curled in a smirk, "Scarlet Spider. I'd heard that you were out and about again." Mary Jane stood stock still and didn't say anything back, "What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" She laughed at her own joke. Dweeb.

"Ah, shut up..." She rolled her eyes. Felicia had left along with the rest of the Defenders sans Lana a year ago. She only found out weeks later when there were sightings of her in France, back in her home. How she was running around so openly she had no idea, but she had to guess Felicia made a deal with S.H.I.E.L.D or something, "I heard from Cindy that you were back."

"Yes. Working with the police on lease."

A scream came from close by. Mary Jane looked across the street and frowned when she saw a little old lady getting her purse snatched by a pale young woman. Another druggie by the looks of her, "Oh for fuck's..." She swung over just as the junkie came out of the alley and clocked her right in the jaw. She fell like a sack and Mary Jane picked up the purse as the old lady came out of the alley panting.

"Th-Thank you..."

"No prob. Are you okay? Did she hurt you?"

"N-No, but my medication's inside. Asthma."

"O-Oh, here!" She handed the purse back in a rush. The old lady smiled gratefully and took a quick puff from the inhaler, "Are you sure you're okay? Do you need me to take you somewhere?"

"No, but thank you." The woman took a 20 out of her pocket, "Here, for your trouble."

"O-Oh, no. I didn't do it for that." She held up both hands and stepped back. This was so weird, "Just make sure you get home okay and we're even."

"Thank you, young lady. Little Vito'll be so excited when I tell him I met a superhero. He's a big fan."

_'Hero...' _She watched the woman go then swung up to the nearby building out of sight. Saving that old lady felt good, but it also reminded her of what she'd just done with her dad. Yeah he deserved it, and no she had no urge to go back and bail him out, but...

Felicia landed behind her, "So your little bout into heroism was genuine." Mary Jane turned and Felicia leaned against the wall near the fire escape, "Personally I still don't see the point."

"Says the popstar thief working for the police." Mary Jane smiled wryly.

"That's work...and a favor owed."

"Yeah...I heard about Murdock." The former(?) thief frowned, "Surprised you let him live."

"Karen Page offered a compelling deal. My father's worth more than revenge." Even _Felicia_ had a great relationship with her dad. It felt like the universe was just making fun of her now, "Still, I guess I can't be too surprised. Spending so much time around Spider-Woman would likely convince anyone to suicidal charity."

Felicia didn't know about her killings. _Would she even care_, the cynical part of her (which was growing larger by the day) wondered. She definitely didn't hesitate to team up with Punisher or Bullseye when it meant getting the revenge she so desperately wanted. If she told her would she even react or just make some joke about how Gwen must not have known if they were still friends.

Joke would've been on her. Gwen knew and they were still friends.

Her bitter musings were cut off by the nearby bigscreens suddenly fizzing out. Both she and Felicia looked when they came back to life and a man with a wrinkly face and curly red hair appeared. He wore an all white suit with a green bowtie that looked hilariously out of place, "Hello, New York!" Mary Jane flinched. His voice sounded like a dying chimpanzee, "Arcade here with a special surprise for all of you!"

"What the fuck?" Mary Jane muttered.

"That's Arcade. He's an assassin...ostensibly. In truth he's more a madman who spends money to kill people for fun." Felicia scoffed, "He's a sick little man."

"I have a show for you all!" Arcade sang, "Now normally I'd keep this event for paying customers and participants, but my new client is paying so much that I decided, why not let everyone else in on the fun? After all, we've got some special, never before seen guests!"

The screen changed images and Mary Jane's insides turned cold. There was Peter, mask and costume and all, slumped against the wall with a beeping collar around his neck. Around him on the wall and on the floor were a few others - Murdock, Moon Knight, Iron Fist and a woman in a ninja outfit - all of them in full costume and equally unconscious. They all had collars on their necks too.

"That's..."

"It looks like Spider's gotten himself in trouble again." Mary Jane's phone rang, but she was still too frozen in shock to respond, "Something tells me Arcade won't be surviving the night when he wakes up."

Mary Jane ignored her and answered the call. They had to find that place. **_Now_**.

* * *

**gyphypTA: **Holy crap, did everyone see the broadcast just now?!

**TrisTERmidara: **Yeah. Is it legit?

**FactChecker:** Think so. That's Arcade. He's on the world's most wanted list. **-embedded link-**

**SasukeUzumaki: **They said he was the one who kidnapped a bunch of celebs in Vegas. Not surprised he's moving onto Superheroes.

**Noobmaster69:** Something tells me he bit off more than can chew. Ten bucks says Spider-Man shoots him through the mouth before the night's done.

**TrisTERmidara: **Nah. Twenty that Spider-Man and his entire team bite it. Arcade's never been caught for a reason.

**ClintEdwards:** Those are people. You guys are sick...

**gyphypTA: **Man, Spider-Woman's gonna be _pissed_ when she finds out...

* * *

**Woof, good thing I postponed the Gwen and Noir segment to this chapter. It ended up being 5000 words long and would've bloated the last chapter. The second segment was also supposed to focus on Noir and show how he got got captured, but I put in Mary Jane instead because Noir gets the majority, if the entire, next chapter for himself and his group. I'll just explain how they got there next update.**

**Speaking of, Noir and the Defenders vs Arcade's Murderworld! Probably shouldn't have ignored that 30 million bounty on your head. Oh well, at least now we get some action for Noir. He's been pretty lacking in it lately. That and a baddie that's despicable enough that we'll see a return of the much more anti-heroic Noir from V1. **

**And don't worry, this does tie into the main plot. Arcade's not a filler villain. **

**I know some people are annoyed that Gwen's segment was focused on Noir, but don't worry she gets plot focus when the pregnancy comes up and Noir gets involved in her side. Tit for tat. **

**Questions:**

**1\. So...I wonder if I could ever write Gwen as being able to forgive Matt - or at least tolerate him - without it coming across as absolute BS. Since he's sticking around for a while and interacting with MJ I wonder if I should have him interact with Gwen more or she just pretends he doesn't exist to avoid breaking his jaw.**

**2\. Is Noir specifically on too many teams? One reader commented on how weird it is that he's on so many groups like the V2 Defenders, the group with the other protagonists, his friendship with Daimon and Ketch etc etc. **

**3\. Should the protags me more emotional and less in-control? Lana getting shotgunned in the face and experiencing no trauma stuck out as odd to a friend when he read through it. **

**Review Answers:**

**Eudera - What's wrong with the younger characters?**

**Roxasdualwielder - Threesome already got voted out.**

**Brave2000 - Thing is, broken 616 Daredevil is not the smug, assholish 65-Matt Murderdock. Even if you can pity him in segments when he attempts suicide you can't really deny he's a jerk who enjoys riling people up.**

**JTodd21 - Peter and Gwen aren't the only protagonists anymore, especially with Moon incarcerated and Murdock forced to heroism.**

**Raw Prodigy - Sin DT is too strong and alien looking. As for 65-Peter's death: Gwen believes she beat him to death but the bio indicates that it's less the beating and more his heart gave out due to the strain of the transformation. The beating likely helped, but it wasn't the only cause.**

**Cha0s4ever - You didn't consider the Lizard serum an asspull in V1? Cause I sure did and I wrote it.**

**Guest - The Miles relation is a spoiler, but his employer is just Scorpion. He's not freelance.**

**Guest and LEgenDarYPRincE (pretty sure you're the same guy) - Comics Noir couldn't webswing or wallcrawl in his miniseries, which I based this Noir off of. **

**Mack006 - Offscreen romance? I doubt it given the mentioned crushes. Also, you don't like this new Matt? Not enough of a jerk? :P As for how I write so fast: no life, being fast at typing, no life, knowing the story ahead of time and no life.**

**Jetiq - Threesome got voted out. Romance really only came here cause readers kept demanding it, both for Peter/Gwen and Orignoir/Shadowcat. Still, what's wrong with the romance specifically? Could always use advice. :)**

**As for people being in love with Noir: there's Gwen, Lana, Mary Jane and Matt. Mary Jane and especially Matt are harder to gauge since the former is equally attracted to Gwen while the latter is emotionally messed up and his view on love is equally twisted. That and Gwen has even more people attracted to her, via reputation if nothing else.**


	20. Fun and Games

**Sorry this chapter took so long. My anxiety has spiked severely in recent days and this chapter itself was...it felt odd to write. Mostly cause Arcade, despite his goofy character and looks, is essentially the horror movie villains like Jigsaw or the Collector. So this entire chapter came across as T-rated horror torture and angst, especially since I took traps from well-known horror movies.**

**Which, again, fits into Arcade's most well known roles - particularly Avengers Arena where he made teenagers murder each other Battle Royale style - but does clash pretty heavily with the (relatively) lighter tone of V2. This'll be the last time I do something like this for a while. Hopefully the next chapters are far lighter.**

**On a power related note - final votes are 23 for webswinging/wallcrawling, 21 for Spider Trigger and 11 for gadgets. I got a sudden spike in votes for the first two in the last week. So it looks like Noir'll start getting the resident Spider powerset and won't be getting ethereal spider arms/more gadgets. **

**Next vote will be for MJ's possible love interest. Oh, and no tweeter segments here. I'll save that for the next chapter. **

* * *

Peter woke up with a muted groan and flinched the bright light overhead almost blinded him. His right hand grabbed his throbbing head and he shut his eyes again as the throbbing slowly died down. It wasn't drugs; those wouldn't have worked on him. Judging by the sore spot on the left side of his head it was probably a big blow...

_The man in the green suit grinned and smashed his fist down on his prone body._

Right, now he remembered. Sowande's little meeting was a trap. All those mercenaries, all that money and setup; just to lure the five of them into that mousehole. They'd barely managed to take down the mercs before all the doors and windows were cut off with reinforced metal and the entire place got gassed. He lasted longer than everyone else, though they did pretty well with their chi and gas masks, but eventually they sent that giant palooka in the green suit in and the rest was history.

He finally opened his eyes again and pulled himself up. The room he was in was long and narrow gray, lacking anything in the way of features on the walls and floor...except for the other end. That wall was covered in long, thin slits with circular saw blades - at least a dozen per column - sticking out. At the center of the saws was a hole with chains extending to the floor to where he was.

There were six chains. He looked around and found the others all waking up groggily with a couple already making to stand shakily. Peter gripped the chain in front of him and traced it to the end where it was attached to a collar around his neck, the circular metal beeping softly. Explosive if he had to guess. It wasn't his first time with a bomb collar.

"Well, we're in quite a pickle, aren't we?"

Matt grinned and offered him a hand. Peter stared at the offered limb witheringly and stood up on his own, "Where are we?" He saw Rand grabbing at his collar next to him and immediately grabbed his hands, "Don't. These collars are likely explosive. Fiddle with em and they go boom."

"Explosive?!" Rand gaped, his shock clear even through his half-mask. Another thing he noticed; their masks were still on. Hell, there were still alive. Any half-decent criminal or mercenary would've taken their masks, probably as a trophy, then shot em all in the head. Instead they were still here, still breathing with collars around their necks. That was a mistake.

The others were fully awake now. Spector looked around the room then down at the chains, "Hmph. Does anyone have their weaponry?" They all looked at their pockets and holsters and came up empty. Echo stared down at where her sheath should have been and slammed the side of her right fist against the wall, her glare clear even through her mask. She still didn't make a sound.

Rand looked sick, "Are you alright?" Peter asked.

"Y-Yeah. Head just feels groggy..." he mumbled.

"Probably the drugs. I'm finding it difficult to 'see' as well," Matt said, "Whoever brought us here wishes to toy with us, it seems. That's the only reason I can assume that we retained our masks."

A sudden screeching sound overhead made them all almost collapse to the floor. Peter gripped the wall to keep himself steady when he heard giggling overhead. He looked up and grimaced at the holographic figure standing above them. A red haired guy with an awful haircut in a shockingly white suit with red and green highlights holding a crystal tipped cane with both hands. He looked out of place in the utilitarian room they were in.

"Welcome, welcome! You all took a while to wake up!" Peter cringed. Guy's voice was like nails on a chalkboard, "Hope you had a pleasant nap?"

"Could've been worse." Lockley said, adjusting the collar idly, "I recognize you. Arcade, right?"

"Oooh, looks like we have a fan from the participants!" He giggled again.

"No, I've just heard about you from some of other, competent villains. You're their little running joke. The assassin who needs a mousetrap to do all the fighting for him." Just barely, the redhead's right brow twitched. Lockley smelled blood and raised up his mask up to his nose to expose his wide grin, "Now why don't you tell us how you plan to kill us so we can escape and put you where you belong? We were kinda busy dealing with someone _actually_ important."

"_Someone's_ confident! Good, you'll need that." The chains attached to their necks suddenly raised and snapped taut. Peter grabbed a hold of it automatically, "Well, I feel like you should know that, while my main target is Spider-Man, I don't mind adding you all as a group package. That man you were going after seemed very insistent on it, in fact. Even added a cool mil per head on top of Spider-Man's 30."

So this was because of the bounty. Peter looked down at the chain and gripped it tightly. He didn't have much affection for anyone in the group, especially Matt, but he still didn't like the idea of them being dragged into his problems. His problem, his consequences.

"But enough about the hows and whys. I need to explain the rules of the game!" He giggled (first thing he'd do when they got out was rip the bastard's tongue clean off) and bright lights suddenly shone overhead, "Now, while I was told to kill you all, I don't like the idea of just shooting you in the head. No class, no pizzazz! So, instead we're going to play a game."

"What's he talking about?" Rand muttered next to him, clearly still under the effects of something. Peter didn't reply.

"We'll go through room to room testing your skills. For the sake of fairness I made sure each and every room is beatable." His spider-sense didn't ring. The white suited gremlin was telling the truth there, at least, "And considering you're all heroes it shouldn't be too hard for you. I do hope you last longer than my last contestants. You'd think celebrities and cosplayers would do better, but they didn't last past the second room!"

Peter looked to the saws again. He could take more hits than the average person, but those many cleaving through flesh would still kill him.

"And of course I don't want to be the only one having fun, so I'm broadcasting this to all of New York." Peter bared his teeth in a snarl. This was reminding him way too much of that pumpkin headed bastard, "So everyone, I hope you all put on your best performance! Wouldn't want to disappoint the audience now, would we? Especially you, Spider-Man. Your better half's watching."

"Go to Hell." Matt chuckled at the 'joke'.

"Now, first things first, your clue: we need a price for this event, so first blood wins. Go!"

Then the chains pulled them forward and the saws started spinning.

* * *

"Now, first things first, your clue: we need a price for this event, so first blood wins. Go!"

This was a nightmare. Gwen watched, unable to tear her eyes away, as all five of them were pulled towards the spinning blades. All of them tried to hold their ground or grab at the walls, but the chains kept pulling them closer and closer to the end. Peter shot a net of webbing to the ground behind him to slow the pull. It only took seconds for a laser to pop out of the wall and cut through it it.

"Ah, ah, ah! None of that!" Arcade's voice taunted, "Come on, there's no point in prolonging the inevitable. Just pay the price so we can get started on the main event!"

Iron Fist gripped his chain with both hands and tilted it upwards towards the saws. There was a brief spark of metal meeting metal before he was suddenly jerked forward and fell on his front, "Those chains are vibranium, FYI. You aren't going to be cutting through it," Arcade said, sing-song. Iron Fist scrambled to stand and her stomach dropped when she saw how much closer he was to the end.

Both her hands balled into shaky fists and it took everything she had not to punch the TV in a rage. None of them deserved this, not even Murdock, and that bastard was treating it all like it was some kind of fucking game. She wanted to reach across the screen, pull them all out and make the bastard who was doing this **pay**.

**'Gwen, you need to calm down.' **Webster said worriedly. Gwen ignored her and kept watching, still rooted to the spot. All around her people were scrambling or similarly frozen. Cindy was screaming into her phone (Gwen didn't know who was on the other end) while Norah took up position on the kitchen table and tried to trace where the signal was coming from. Mary Jane sat next to her and tried to help as best she could while her dad and Jess pored over a map as Norah listed off multiple locations.

Ben and May were on the couch behind her. May had fainted when the saws turned on and Ben was splitting his time between looking after her and paying attention to the 'game'. Lana paced around all over the living, her body occasionally arcing with energy and muttering to herself. Her mom held Helena close on the corner seat, the baby crying softly like she sensed their distress.

And then Peter stopped struggling and started walking towards the saws. Gwen wanted to scream, but her voice caught in her throat and she could only watch as he pulled the wrist of his jacket back to expose a pale arm, "Hoho, looks like one of you finally wised up!" He pressed his wrist to the edge of the closest blade and blood spattered across the screen. Her mom screamed and Helena started crying in full force.

But the blades stopped. Everyone else immediately followed Peter's lead and let their hands or wrists get cut up to make the blades stop. A silence settled over the room, broken only by Helena's crying and Lana's muttering, "Looks like our contestants won their first round! A price paid in blood is the most valuable of all, right?" The bastard's hologram shrugged, "I thought it was pretty obvious."

The walls with the saws suddenly pulled back and the five were dragged to the next room, "We'll be taking a bit of a break, ladies and gents, but get ready because the next round will be much more fun than the last!"

A timer for 5 minutes appeared on the screen. Gwen finally managed to tear her eyes away from the screen, walked to the closest wall and slammed both fists against it. The wall cracked and splintered and she pressed her face against the old wallpaper. Her breaths came out in ragged gasps, veins ran up the length of her neck up to her jaw and her bared teeth were sharp and monstrous.

She knew she should've gone with him. Peter told her he'd be alright and now he was trapped in some madman's insane game while thousands - millions - of people could only watch; herself included. She smashed her hands against the wall again and it finally crumbled. All this power, all the gifts Webster gave her, and she couldn't do _anything_ to help.

She had to get out there. Maybe...Maybe she could swing around, find them somehow-

"...wen. Gwen!" Cindy suddenly grabbed her shoulders and spun her around. Gwen almost smacked her away, "We need you to stay here and keep calm-"

"How the hell can you say that?!" Gwen screamed. Most of everyone in the room stopped what they were doing to face them, "Peter's...Peter's being tortured by that bastard right now! And we're all just here, just...just..." The veins covered almost all of her face now. Cindy didn't take so much as a step back, "Why the hell are you so fucking calm, huh?! Do you even care-"

The sudden slap to her right cheek surprised her more than she wanted to admit. Gwen looked back to the older Spider and almost flinched at the murderous glare she was sporting, "Of course I care! Why do you think I came here?! Or why everyone else did?! All of us are scrambling because we want to save them! Wasp is going insane trying to find Moon Knight and Danny's friends are trying to look for him too!"

"I..."

"That's why we need you _here_. Norah's doing her best, but even then there are too many places. You, me, MJ and Lana are the fastest and we need to work together instead of running around blind. Once we get all the locations we can split it off between the four of us so we don't waste any time. Okay?" The brunette's glare left her no room to question. It was calming, in a way.

"Okay..." Gwen chewed on her lower lip so hard it was a miracle she didn't draw blood. The veins retracted and her features returned to normal, "I just...I hate this. Every second that we haven't found him - them - it feels like they..."

"I know..." Cindy released a soft breath and looked down the bloodstained knuckles of her right hand. Apparently one of her coworkers started placing bets on the 'game' and she'd punched him hard enough to break his nose, "I'm worried too, we all are, but panicking won't help us save them. We just...We just have to trust Peter and the rest to hold on till we can find them. Okay?"

"...Okay." Gwen nodded.

"Good. Now, I gotta go get some ice cause I think your face broke my hand." She shook her hand and trudged back to the dining room.

There was a buzz from the screen and Gwen's head snapped towards it again. The countdown ended. It was starting again.

* * *

They were dragged to an open stage. Peter and the rest stopped only when they were close to the edge and the the chains jerked down, forcing them all to kneel. His bloodstained wrist throbbed and dripped with blood. A price of blood...the guy was more off his rocker than he thought.

The stage was brightly lit while the the area around them was covered in shadow. It didn't keep him from seeing the figures above them standing behind the reinforced glass, "Men and women in suits and dresses..." Peter muttered. Only Rand and Matt, who took up his left and right respectively, heard him, "You can see them too, can't you?" he whispered to Matt.

"Yes, though 'seeing' isn't the right term."

"I can see a bit. I recognize some of them." One of the ones out back raised a red board of some kind. Bidding... "I've had meetings with some of them. To think they're doing something like this..."

"Don't tell me you're surprised. Everyone has a dark side." Matt chuckled, "Either way we should prepare ourselves. I assume we'll be hunted soon."

They were bidding on them. Deciding which of them got the 'honor' to hunt down another human being like an animal. Peter wanted to be surprised, but it wasn't the first time he'd been on this end. Depravity was a worldwide phenomenon, as he'd been shown time and again during his year-long trip.

As was begging when the tables were turned.

The bidding war lasted for two more minutes before the stage suddenly lowered to the ground and the lights dimmed, blanketing them all in total darkness, "Sorry for the wait!" Arcade's grating voice screeched all around them, "But we're going to have a little hunting game this time. A few of my select audience wanted to get involved, you see, and were even willing to bid to get that chance."

Echo made a handsignal and nudged her head before parts of the floor split open to spit out makeshift walls and shrubs, "Want to make arena as viable as possible, ya know?" Arcade chimed in, "Here's the rules: there aren't any. It's kill or be killed out there, folks! Oh, but I should probably tell ya the attacking team has nightvision and, you know, _guns_. Thought it'd be fair since they're not Superheroes like the rest of you are."

"Oh, and none of that non-lethal stuff! It's kill or be killed, folks! Price of admission!"

The door at the other end of the large, circular room opened and his spider-sense flared, "Take cover." It wasn't a yell, it was barely more than a whisper, but they all heard it just fine. Peter jumped to the rightmost wall and pressed himself against it just as a barrage of gunfire covered where they were all just standing, "Automatics..." He looked to the left and found only Echo next to him. The other three were elsewhere.

Echo crouched and gestured to the other wall, "Can you see?" She nodded. Must've been another one of the gifts the Hand gave her. Peter peeked his head out slightly and counted them all, "Count 15 of em. We need to thin them out before Moon Knight and Iron Fist can help us." Matt would be fine. The bastard was good in the dark and he could help Iron Fist and Moon Knight.

Two of the 'hunters' rounded the corner on both sides. Peter grabbed one with the rifle to the left while Echo took the one brandishing a shotgun on the right. Peter smashed her against the wall, webbed her face completely and yanked the gun from her grip as she struggled. He pulled the trigger when the muzzle was against her gut only to be met with an annoyingly loud click and a beep from, the collar.

"Ah, ah, ah! That isn't for you!" Arcade jeered, "Gotta keep it fair, you know?"

Peter clicked his tongue. He tossed the woman to the ground then stomped on her neck, causing it to snap with a dull crack. Echo broke both of her assailants arms, grabbed the knife from the holster then stabbed him multiple times in the chest. Apparently the blades were fair game, "Come on." Peter nudged his head. Echo's masked, bloodstained face turned towards Peter. Then she stabbed the 'hunter' in the throat one more time for good measure and let him crumple to the ground.

"Ooh, things are heating up!" Arcade cheered loudly.

5 more converging on their position. Peter picked up a knife and disappeared into smoke while Echo held her ground. Peter rushed towards the two to the right and stabbed one in the throat while he webbed the other to the ground, "It's Spider-Man! Turn on heat vision!" If he were more morbid he would've laughed at that. Magic didn't exactly follow the rules.

They turned on their heat vision and scanned the area. Peter rushed to the one a bit farther from the rest, grabbed him by the next and tossed him behind one of the walls. The man scrambled to pick up his gun and Peter hit him with a running kick that broke his goggles and made his teeth fly out.

Just two more left.

The two remaining hunters, a man and a woman, shot at where their buddy was. Peter was long gone by the time they lit the place up and left their body fulla daylight, _'No love lost, I guess.' _Echo came up behind the two and stabbed the woman in the back of the neck. The man turned just in time for Echo to yank the gun from his grip and toss it far away.

Every strike was methodical. One to the neck, another to the gut and and a few more in what he could only assume were pressure points. The man was left a twitching, heaving mess on the floor who could only look up at Echo as she grabbed the embedded knife from his friend's neck then stabbed him in the side of his neck. His twitched continued for a few more seconds before he finally lay still.

"And our audience is going wild!" Peter grit his teeth. Again he was reminded that everyone could see this. Ben, May, Cindy, Mary, Lana, Gwen...he didn't feel guilty killing these bastards. Just a bunch of rich psychopaths who thought they could kill people because they paid for the 'right'. Like someone's life could be so easily priced like that.

Still, he didn't like the idea that someone was hovering over his shoulder taking notes.

A sudden explosion at the rightmost part drew both their attention. Echo went first, grabbing the knife and charging towards the source like a woman possessed. Peter followed after her and found a gaggle of bodies, many of them missing quite a few parts, scattered around the area. Iron Fist and Moon Knight were panting with their hands on their knees and cricking their necks, respectively, while Matt wasn't too far away. The Devil of Hell's Kitchen had his knee to someone's back and forced them to the ground, the wire from his billy club wrapped around her neck.

He could see Matt's grin from here.

The 'hunter' struggled briefly before eventually her movements weakened and Matt snapped her neck, "Well, that was a decent workout." He stood and re-fixed the club, "One more would-be predator left. Who wants to do the honors?"

Said 'hunter' was a man who was decade older than Peter and covered in blood, most of it not his. His gun was gone and he banged against the door to the elevator, "Hey, lemme outta here!" he shouted, loud and desperate. Echo walked towards him, "Arcade, get me the fuck out of here! I give! I gi-"

His words died in his throat when she stabbed the knife to his back and pressed him hard against reinforced glass. He tried to open his mouth and blood dribbled out, turning his pleas into weak, pathetic dribbling. Echo stabbed him two more times before pulling the knife out and and letting him slide down to the floor, leaving a trail of blood on the glass in his wake.

The entire arena lit up. Peter narrowed his eyes at the sudden brightness and glared at Arcade's hologram as he gave them that gremlin like smile, "That was quick! Then again, I'm not surprised. This bunch _did _ignore my warnings that going after Superheroes would be harder than the usual celeb or gameshow host. Guess they got confident." He shrugged without a care, "Oh well, you win some you lose some."

"Need I remind you we're on a schedule?" Lockley sighed dramatically, "Remember: you're not important, so let's not pretend this whole thing isn't more than a distraction."

Arcade's mouth twitched again and the hologram sat down, "So impatient! Well, I can't be _too_ mad. You _are_ more fun than the last bunch." The last group people he murdered, he meant. The guy might've just been a gremlin to them but how many people did he put on these death mazes for the sake of his twisted fun? "Maybe this next bunch will be more of a challenge!"

The floor suddenly gave way beneath them. The fall was brief and all of them managed to keep their balance as they landed, "Getting tired of this..." Peter looked around the area quickly. Unlike the last arena this one was brightly colored with multiple patterns on the walls and grinning Arcade faces all around them. Aside from that there were multiple glass cells with flamethrowers, gun turrets everywhere and even a few spinning blades.

It looked like someone's deranged fever dream come true.

"Since the rich folks didn't give much of a challenge, why not a few more people your speed?"

Peter's spider-sense flared dully and he lowered himself into a crouching position as the green bastard from before (Bruiser, he called himself), the Nazi made of bees (still missing an 'arm' and a chunk of his 'face') and a few others came from the other end of the seizure-inducing chamber, "These guys were just as eager to get their hands on you! Guess you five made some enemies, hm?"

"This is crazy..." Rand muttered, already lowering himself into a combat stance.

"That's life." Matt chuckled, "Come on, let's have some fun."

* * *

Gwen left crossed out another building and swung her way over to the next. Even with Norah doing her best to narrow the signal and the help from Cindy's police friends and Wasp the location list still came up into the dozens. So, like Cindy had said they all split off into different parts of the city so they could avoid wasting time. Gwen and Cindy were the fastest, being used to webswinging and all, so they took the largest areas.

She'd been through easily half a dozen places with no luck. It would've been one thing if they could just kick the door down and check, but Wasp had them scan the place with a program she sent them to make sure that there weren't any elaborate torture dungeons in the basement.

"And the crowd goes wild!" Gwen grit her teeth and almost missed the next swing, one hand holding onto a webline while the other held her phone up to her face. Cindy had suggested they hold off on watching the 'games' to avoid being distracted, but Gwen couldn't stomach the idea of it. If something happened to Peter and the rest of them while she wasn't looking...she knew it wouldn't have made a difference whether she was watching or not.

And yet she kept watching, half out of worry and half on the hope that maybe she'd see a clue of some kind.

**'Gwen, we're coming up on the building,'** Webster said. Gwen didn't reply, **'Gwen...'** She stopped at a nearby horizontal flagpole and winced when Peter got slammed against the wall by the guy in green. Peter's punches to his face were completely ignored and the son of a bitch kept laughing till Murderdock tossed a brick to the back of his knee and a sickening crack echoed.

The guy crumpled to the ground screaming. Peter webbed both his hands to the ground then webbed his mouth and nose to suffocate him. Gwen could only look on in morbid curiosity as his struggles weakened and he eventually went limp, "Looks like Bruiser's down and out!" Arcade cheered loudly. The sick fuck was making them kill. It made Gwen sick to her stomach.

**'Gwen!'** Webster's scream nearly made her drop the phone, **'I know you're worried, but we need to keep going!' **

"R-Right..." She pocketed the phone and swung to the next building. Please God let Peter hold on till she got there.

* * *

Peter watched as the Nazi Bee man banged against the walls of the reinforced glass. It was a small incinerator room; part of Arcade's twisted sense of fairness. He wanted both sides to be able to win so he left ways for both sides to kill the other.

He didn't say anything and just continued to stare as the flames finally activated and engulfed the entirety of the small, see-through cube. Swarm was the most difficult to take down by far, mostly cause of those bees of his. Eventually they'd managed to lure him inside, though they (mostly he and Rand) took more than a few stings in the process. Even now the side of his face and neck throbbed and Rand's right arm had swollen .

The bastard's screaming was grotesque; a mix of human and the sounds of a bee's rattling death throes. Peter finally looked away and looked to the rest of them. Moon Knight looked the worst off with his white outfit stained with blood and his left wrist covered in deep bite marks courtesy of the oversized dog man mangling him. Matt was leaning slightly on his right leg - took a hit from that big Bruiser palooka - while the lower half of Echo's mask had been torn off, exposing the deep scratches that went from her right cheek to her chin.

All while they were being recorded. It was just like Jack again.

"Impressive! All villains dead and not a single fatality on your side! Color me impressed!" Peter clenched his fists. The blood stuck uncomfortably to his fingers, "The audience is enjoying it too! Just look at these posts on social media! You guys are darlings right now!"

"He's rather grating, isn't he?" Matt put a hand on his neck and cracked his neck, "Still, this change of events is rather refreshing. Been a while since we've had a good fight with anyone but the Hand's pawns, hasn't it?"

"You guys are way too calm about this," Rand said. Peter felt sorry for him. He was the chosen warrior of Kun Lung or something, but this brand of insanity was still new to him. He felt like he was dragging a kid to this...ignoring the fact that the guy was 28.

"Next game!" Arcade screeched. A door to the side of the arena opened, "Don't worry, there won't be any killing this time! I find that mixing things up keeps both the contestants and the audience on their toes."

They all looked at each other before slowly trudging to the next room. So far they hadn't found any way to escape, so for now the only choice they had was to play along. He didn't much fancy getting his head blown up.

As soon as they were inside the door behind them closed with a slam. Peter only looked back briefly before taking in their new surroundings. If the last room was seizure inducing this one was designed to give someone vertigo. The entire place was topsy turvy: tables on the ceiling, phones on the walls, lights and ceiling fans on the floor...if he wasn't so used to insane heights he might've felt sick.

The room suddenly shook. They all braced themselves and hung on to whatever they could as the room suddenly rushed upwards with enough force to make a few of them almost fall to the ground, "It's an elevator..." Meaning they were in a high building of some kind, "Daredevil, can you see anything?"

"Nothing that will help us, if that's what you mean."

The elevator stopped. Arcade appeared in front of them again, "Any of you ever play escape room? Scavenger hunts? No? Doesn't matter," he waved a hand, "This one's more focused on finesse. Look over there."

He pointed behind them. Peter looked and found a metal door on a raised platform with five keyholes dotted across its surface. "Five keyholes, five keys, five of you; no double dipping. Good thing none of you died yet, huh?" He laughed, "Look for the keys around the room then find a way out. Simple, right? Should be easy with all five of you here. Just...make sure to do it fast."

That God awful buzzing sound came back with his spider-sense coming right after, "Move!" They all managed to jump away just in time to avoid the collapsing floor. A decent sized chunk of paneling fell down and exposed the deep, dark hole below them with water at the bottom. At the height of the fall it would've been fatal to all of them. Seconds passed before the metal square finally hit the water with dull sound.

"Damn it..." Peter looked around the area and spotted at two of the keys. One was attached to a painting and another was hanging precariously of a horizontal coat rack, "Moon Knight, Iron Fist, you go for those two." He pointed them both out then turned to Moon Knight, "Your wrist is damaged, so you go for the lower one. Daredevil, Echo and I will look for the rest."

"I've spotted the others. I suggest you go for the highest one." Matt pointed straight up to the high ceiling where a key hung by a string, "You _are_ the Spider amongst us, after all." He grinned. Peter almost punched him in the face.

Another buzzing noise and another large chunk of the floor fell, "Tick tock, tick tock!" Arcade giggled.

Peter grit his teeth and began climbing the wall, using whatever he could as handholds. The rest followed his lead with varying speeds, _'Focus, Parker.' _He shook his head and continued climbing. Right then and there he sorely wished he could cling to walls like Gwen, Cindy and Mary. Would've made this entire thing a walk in the park. Hopefully the rest of them didn't fall. He didn't need them on his conscience.

He was halfway up to his key when Arcade chimed in again, "Looks like someone's already got theirs." He looked back down and saw Moon Knight sitting against the wall, bloody wrist pressed against his chest while his other hand held onto the silver key in a vice grip, "Will the rest of them make it? Place your bets now."

Peter climbed faster and paused when he reached the top. Key was at the center of the room and his arms weren't long enough to reach, "Ooh, looks like Spider-Man's in a conundrum. Whatever shall he do?" God, if this trap didn't kill him then that bastard's voice would, "Oh, and it looks like he's lagging behind! We already have another winner!"

Echo landed on the platform with some measure of grace with Matt close behind. Rand was still trying to find his way back, "Come on..." Taking a deep breath, he kicked against the wall and jumped for the key. He managed to grab it with one hand and ejected a net of webbing once he was close to the wall. He gripped the end of it tightly and let out soft breath.

"And he's got it! He might not be able to webswing, but he still has it! Good for you!" If he wasn't so busy he might've flipped the gremlin off. Instead he made sure to keep a tight grip on the key as he made his way to the platform. He didn't want to risk putting it on his pocket and having the damn thing fall into the abyss.

Peter made the final jumped and landed at the edge of the platform, "Nice job." Matt gave him a thumbs up. He ignored him and put the key into the fourth hole, "Now we just have to wait for Iron Fist."

Despite having the second lowest key Rand was still hanging on the table and trying to maneuver close to the platform. It was clear he wasn't use to climbing, "Come on..." Rand panted and Peter didn't like the way his hands shook, "What's wrong with him?"

"The drugs..." Spector muttered, "Sowande must have told Arcade to keep him drugged. Without it the power of the Iron Fist can't be contained. The fighting would have only weakened him."

"Shit." He turned back to Rand, "Iron Fist, hurry! We don't have much more time!"

Rand nodded and managed a couple more shimmies before, with a loud cheer from Arcade, he fell. Rand landed right side first on one of the two remaining platforms, "Iron Fist!" He stopped at the edge of the platform and looked at the distance. Jump was doable, but there was no way he'd get them both up considering how much higher the platform they were standing on was, "Get up! "

Rand shook his head with a soft groan and stood up shakily. He looked like he was seconds from passing out, "This isn't ideal," Matt muttered next to him. The buzzing sound came again and the platform behind Rand fell, "I'd suggest-"

He was cut off when Echo suddenly rushed past them and jumped to the platform. She barely managed to land on the edge, "Echo!" She grabbed the key from Rand's hand and tossed it towards them. Matt caught it with one hand and inserted it to the remaining keyhole, "Damn it, you both need to get out of there now!"

"I don't see how they could." Matt said. Peter ignored him.

Echo dragged Rand to the edge and looked at the space between the platforms. She made another gesture before she suddenly picked up Rand with both hands and threw him. Peter leaned as far as he could over the edge of the platform ejected a line of webbing that barely managed to catch the blonde's wrist. Peter was stuck leaning over the edge while Rand hung limply by his wrist.

The buzzing came back.

"Echo, jump!" She looked around briefly before looking back to him and shaking her head, "Damn it, now isn't the time to argue! Jump-"

The platform fell. Peter couldn't do anything but watch as Echo fell to the water below and crashed through it out of sight. She didn't come back up, "...Damn it." He pulled up Rand with Matt's help and sat on the platform with his back against the wall and his eyes closed. His heart pounded against his ears and he smashed the back of his fist on the surface of the metal door.

Of course that bastard chose just then to chime in.

"Oooh, our first fatality! And a dramatic one too! A sacrifice for her teammate!" Peter's hands shook and he pulled himself up, "And it looks like Spider-Man's taking it hard. Mayhaps they were more than friends? If so shame on you, Spider-Man! I didn't take you for the cheating type."

Peter didn't say a word and just walked through the door with the rest following behind him. Rand hadn't said a word, but it was clear by the way his mouth hung agape and he kept looking back that he knew what happened. Spector focused on looking around for weaknesses while Matt...

Matt just smiled and hummed like he was having the time of his life.

Eventually they came to five doors at the end of the hallway, "This is where the teamwork segment ends, gents. One door for each of you, each leading to a specialized trial. Didn't know which of you would make it to this point so I decided to play it safe and make one for each of you. You'll see your pictures on the wall. Just make sure that you pick your door cause anyone who tries to swap out gets an explosive surprise! Get it?"

Peter went to the door with a 'cutesy' drawing of his mask and put his hand on the knob, "...None of you better die." He didn't give them a chance to respond before he opened it and walked the length of the brightly lit hall. The multi-colored lights overhead flickered on and off and his collar started beeping the closer he got to the edge. Not explosive, or if it was his spider-sense didn't think it was important to warn him.

When he emerged from the hall he was met with a winding path that lacked anything in the way of walls. Beneath the winding path was a pit full of spikes like on one of those violent horror movies Cin forced him to watch. His eyes traced across the length of the path and he froze when he saw what - who - was on the end.

A little girl, couldn't have looked older than 5, if that, with both her hands and legs bound by cuffs. Her mouth was covered tightly with a gag and she did her best cry through it, tears streaming down her cheeks. Around her was a collar that looked identical to his only far smaller in size.

"Quite a scene, isn't it?" Arcade's hologram popped up in front of him with a taunting grin, "Decided to go for something classic since you guys seemed bored with fighting and puzzles. The hero saves the innocent civilian - in this case our darling volunteer Maddie. An old employee was put into my debt and he decided that the little peach would be just the perfect thing to pay it back. Poor thing has no idea what's happening."

"...Just tell me the rules."

"Oh, such a hero response!" He clapped his hands eagerly, "It's pretty simple: you go through the obstacle course, dodging the usual assortment of lasers and buzzsaws and the like, and make it to the finish line in under 60 seconds. That would be the finish line." He pointed to the white line painted in front of the girl, "You win the race and I let her go. Simple as that. Are we agreed?"

"Don't have a choice." He looked at the winding path and took note of the slight bumps and almost imperceptible holes. He couldn't afford to get caught here, "Let's start."

"Ready, set, go!"

Large, holographic numbers covered the entirety of the area around him and a song about needing a hero started blaring. Peter ran ahead and it didn't take long before the obstacles started, "Oops, watch out!" Peter jumped between the lasers and flipped on his hand to avoid the saw that suddenly jutted out of the ground, "That was a close one!" Peter jumped over the next saw and then his spider-sense suddenly blared.

An overwhelming electric shock surged through him and he barely managed to avoid fully running into the horizontal saw. The blades sliced through his right side and he fell on one knee. Arcade's hologram appeared in front of him, "Oh, did I forget to mention the shocks? Yeah, you'll get periodic shocks here and there to keep things interesting. Oh, and you have 40 seconds."

"Get up..."

He forced himself to stand and continued running. Blood dripped down his side and he forced himself to ignore the pain, "He's getting closer. Will the hero make it in time to save the damsel in distress?"

Another shock. Peter stumbled and burned his left arm and almost fell over the edge. He shot a net of webbing behind him and used it to pull himself back, _'19 seconds...'_ He was close. Again forcing himself to ignore the pain, he forced one leg over the other and kept dodging the projectiles as best he could.

"Fire!" Two nozzles spewing flames jutted out of the floor. Peter jumped through it and left the burning jacket behind, "Bold maneuver! But is it enough?"

The final seconds counted down. He'd almost made it to the end when the collar surged with electricity again and his body finally collapsed. He saw the white line and reached a hand out desperately to teach it.

The timer hit zero and the ungodly blaring came again. Peter shut his eyes briefly and when he opened up again his heart sank when he saw that his fingers was a scant inch from the painted line, "No..." He forced himself up. Had to get her out, had to...

"Ooh, and Spider-Man faces his first loss!" The bastard sounded like Christmas came early. He had the biggest grin on his face and he clapped his hands excitedly, "And you know what that means!"

"Don't-"

The girl didn't even get a chance to let out a final cry before her collar beeped loudly and her head...disappeared. Blood covered Peter and her body crumpled to the ground, a pool of crimson seeping down towards him. Peter only managed two more steps before he fell on his knees, head facing down. Arcade was taunting him and showed him videos of the other three struggling against their own games, but he didn't pay it any mind.

He failed. The girl was dead because of it.

His bloody reflection stared back at him. He saw his mask, torn and tattered and covered in blood, but something else on top of: the mask of Anansi. He heard the Spider-God's voice in his ear. Urging him to hunt. To kill.

"Hellooo, earth to Spider-Man!" Arcade's hologram appeared in front of him, "Up, up, up! We still have more games to play!" He clapped his hands mockingly, "Come on, we need to give the audience a show! You'll like this next one: we'll be face to face!"

"...I'm going to kill you." The declaration was nothing more than a soft whisper.

"Are you forgetting who's holding all the cards here?" He sighed like he was dealing with a rowdy child, "Cause you know this isn't- wait."

His collar stopped beeping. Arcade's hologram disappeared and a screen focused on the front entrance. Gwen kicked down the door to the building, her eyes sharp and her fingers sharpened into claws, "Well, well, well. Looks like girlfriend's come for the res-" She ignored the taunting and kicked down another reinforced door before she grabbed the closest guards and smashed them against the walls.

There was no finesse, no jokes. She tore through everything in her way. The screen turned off and the hologram came back, "Well, looks like Spider-Woman's not so fond of playing by the rules. Sorry, but we'll have to cut this game short. You understand, don't you?"

He pressed the diamond on the tip of his cane. Seconds of silence passed and then his smile faded, "What the?" He tapped it again and again. Still nothing, "Why isn't your head popping like a cherry?!"

Again he cycled through the screens till pausing at one video in particular: Echo in some kind of control room destroying as much machinery as she could, "What the- how are you still alive?! I literally saw you go splat and your heart rate was _zero!_" She paid him him no mind and smashed another machine, "Rrrgh, cheaters and intruders! This game is official over!"

He was going to escape. Peter grabbed the collar as he stood and pulled till it split apart with a dull crack. The screens showed more and more video feeds: Lana, Mary and Cindy busting in through different entrances, the rest of his team escaping their games...he paid it no mind. His gaze was focused solely ahead to the elevator. He said they would meet face to face.

The doors opened and four men in body armor carrying rifles stomped out. Peter disappeared into smoke and charged towards them, "Open fi-" He grabbed the goon's head and twisted it 180 degrees. The worthless sack dropped to the ground and he focused on the next one, tackling him against the wall and punching him in the throat hard enough to break his neck.

To the other two it must've looked surreal, like a ghost coming to reap bloody vengeance. Peter grabbed the knife from the second goon's sheath and ducked the barrage of gunfire before stabbing the third rent-a-clown multiple times in a frenzy. Blood splattered all around them and the last one barely managed to take a step back before Peter drove the knife up his jaw.

Peter grabbed the rifle with one hand and held the knife with the other. He pressed the button and the elevator rushed to the top. He kept staring ahead passively even as another hologram appeared in front of him, "You're still coming up? I already packed up and the guests are leaving! You know the phrase know when to fold em?" Peter didn't say anything, "You know the silent treatment isn't cool or anything. It's just-"

Spider-sense.

Peter disappeared and pressed himself against the rightmost wall. A barrage of gunfire came at where he stood and Peter winced as a ricochet grazed his still-injured leg, "He's still there, morons! Keep firi-" He charged out and stabbed one in the threat and shot three others through the head. The remaining two raised their guns and Peter flipped sideways to avoid the gunfire. He threw the knife through the right one's visor then tackled the other one to the ground and kept smashing his head down till he stopped moving.

He picked up the knife and gun again and kept running down the hall. Arcade continued to taunt him, but with every step he took he heard the bastard's voice get less and less calm.

Peter kicked down the double doors and almost paused when he saw what was on the other end of it. Men and women in six figure clothes frozen in shock and fear, tables filled with exotic feasts...and the screens showing everything that happened. A fancy party for the decadent and depraved. They were fighting for their lives and these bastards paid for the privilege to watch death from behind the safety of a screen.

And at the center of it all was him. Arcade, in his immaculate white suit without a hair out of place. His smile wasn't as confident as he might've hoped, "So, funny story. Apparently one of your friends grounded my chopper and-"

Peter shot him through the gut. Everyone around him immediately started screaming and trying to run past him to the one exit. Peter webbed the entire doorway shut behind him and anyone dumb enough to try and grab the dark silk was suddenly paralyzed. No one was leaving.

Peter walked forward and fired another bullet through Arcade's left hand as he tried to raise it, "Ah, ah! Damn, that hurts!" He curled in on himself weakly, "Okay, okay! I see that you might just be a tad put off-" One through his left knee, "Ah, fuck! Fuck! The games aren't for everyone, I get it! So let's deal!"

The next one went between his legs.

Everyone around them watched as Arcade pathetically crawled his way to the wall and tried to pull himself up. He only managed to get up halfway before he fell back down, back pressed against the marble, "Y-You know we're still recording..." His voice was weak, desperate. Trying to find a way out, "Everyone's watching, so..." He raised both hands up weakly, "I give up. Take me in-"

The last one went through his right eye.

There was a moment of silence before all hell broke loose again. The sadistic cowards tried to escape again, and again they had no luck. He looked up at the screen right above him and was met with his own image - bloody, wounded and barely conscious - standing in front of the sack of shit's perforated corpse. Everyone saw it.

He turned the gun on the crowd. They all screamed, some of them even getting on their knees to beg for their pathetic lives. Many of them held onto each other protectively. They were all there. They partied it up like nothing was wrong and just watched as they fought for their lives.

Just watched as that little girl died scared and confused while they treated it all like a game.

He almost squeezed the trigger. Just let the bullets cut through them; it was what they deserved. Instead his spider-sense blared by just the smallest amount before he saw grenades roll into the largest cluster of people.

Peter raised his arm and covered his face as the explosions rang out. The smell and taste of iron permeated the air and when he looked back he found nothing left but mangled bodies and a few still clinging to life. He was almost tempted to kill them, out of mercy if nothing else, but ultimately just let the rifle fall. Whatever they got they deserved, and if they survived it wouldn't have been pleasant.

Now, who threw those grenades?

A nearby screen blurred with static briefly before an all too familiar face popped up on the screen, "Bullseye..."

"Hey, kid! That was some party, huh?" Judging by the way he was holding his hand out he must've been using a phone to project himself, "You haven't lost your touch, huh? Still as vicious as I remember."

"...What are you doing here?"

"Who, me? Oh I just wanted to check in, see how ya were doing. We left off on kinda awkward note last time." He looked around the mangled corpses and whistled in appreciation, "Sorry for stealing all the fun. Since Arcade boy there failed the bossman wanted to make sure that none of these guys talked about him. Kill all witnesses, you know how it is. We were totally on the same page this time, though!"

"That's not the only reason you came here."

"No, but it was the most fun." He leaned back and brandished a knife in his right hand. The Hellfire knife, "Remembered this thing and thought I'd help myself. Don't worry, I didn't take anything else. Scout's honor."

"...Get down here. Let's finish this."

"As in right now? Yeah...no. Right now a stiff breeze'd knock ya over. And where's the fun in that? I wanna work for it! What's the point if you're not having fun, right?" He grinned, "Don't ya worry, kid, I'll see you eventually! Gotta prepare where we'll have our date first...and take care of my replacement." Matt. Bullseye must've been the one who nearly killed him over a week ago.

The screen shut down. Peter was left alone in the bloodstained room, the only being the occasional gurgles and mumbled pleas from those still clinging to life, He cut through the web covering the entrance and walked back to the elevator. Bodies littered the halls, but he paid them no mind. He didn't feel guilty, not after what they did.

Even if Gwen saw.

The elevator's descent was painfully slow. The doors opened and he was only slightly surprised to find Gwen at the other end. Her mask's features softened when she saw him and she reached out a hesitant hand. She stopped before actually touching him, "Peter." Her voice was so soft, so full of pity. Peter just shook his head. He couldn't talk, not now...

He practically collapsed in her arms and drifted away into a dream-filled sleep.

* * *

**Yeah, like I said this chapter wasn't my best work. The next chapter will be far lighter and focus more on Gwen as she tries to fix Peter's bounty issue and deals with more pregnancy symptoms. **

**The original 'Noir goes apeshit' moment was also meant to be somewhat different. Since Spider Trigger looked like it was going to win he was supposed to have used the ethereal spider arms to kill the guards. Wallcrawling as wall would've had him rip someone's face off. On the advice of a reader I decided to add the the winning vote more slowly so it feels earned rather than being another power-up.**

**Gwen was also supposed to get more POV but I wanted to focus more on the Arcade segment. She'll get focus next chapter...along with the public reacting to the Murderworld games and Noir's killing spree at the end. Off. Also Gwen being super overprotective for a while given what just happened. **

**Anyway, that's it. Hope you stomached through this chapter and look forward to the next.**

**Questions:**

**1\. Should I do more bonding segments between the five protagonists or should I leave them to their own supporting cast? Some people seemed to like the sleepover truth or dare segment from before.**

**2\. I originally planned for different members of the Defenders to fight different Fingers ie Echo got focus on fighting Murakami, Moon Knight against Sowande etc etc. Should I scrap this and just have Noir be the lead to fighting all the Hand bosses with the rest being support/non-POV because he's the main character? **

**Review Answers:**

**Jetiq - In the case of Bullseye/Matt/Jack being attracted to Noir, it was to play into the the gag that Noir was/is a psychopath magnet; as much as he tries not to be. With Shadowcat and Original Noir, though, it did change their dynamic and character development heavily; particularly when Laura got involved.**

**Noisy-Cricket - It was close, but ultimately webs/walls won. **

**Brave2000 - The thing is Matt being human and vulnerable now doesn't change the fact that he's a dick as well. They're not mutually exclusive.**

**Eragen - Not really. People post theories and dumb crap all the time.**


	21. House Arrest and Awkward Photos

**So I'm reading up on my thesis and trying to take meds/tea for my anxiety, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to update much. Depends on whether my anxiety kicks in and makes me think my parents will die horribly within the next couple of weeks or I go back to feeling useless because I feel like I don't do enough at work.**

**On a brighter note, this is a more talky and less action-y chapter to balance out the last one. This also made it far easier to write - over 5000 was made by me just today. Hope you guys like it :)**

**Current votes for love interest are 8 for Matt, 6 for Felicia, 1 for other and 0 for Kate and Frog-Man. I'll have MJ interact with the latter two later so Kate (not Eugene) might be seen as more viable.**

**Also, a lot of people seem to want _both_ Spider-Arms and the traversal abilities now. Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned the original awakening scene since now people are thinking of what-ifs...**

**Side Note - Multiple friends have been suggesting I start trying to get paid for writing. Since I'm pretty sure being paid for writing fanfics is illegal I'm considering getting paid for original works. Just request a kind of story, setting and characters and I can write it up at a price :) Seems doubtful it'll go anywhere, but we'll see. **

* * *

**Ep101: Holy shit, that was...intense...**

**AllNuturalDudeBro: INTENSE?! Dude, a kid fucking died! WTF?! It's more than intense!**

**MousybutSassy: Yeah, this is fucked! What the hell?!**

**AllNuturalDudeBro: Dude, it was fucked from the beginning! Just cause Spider-Man and the rest of them were superheroes doesn't mean it's any better they got almost killed!**

**Ep101: I thought they'd just bust out and stop this guy. I mean, the Defenders killed a fucking demon in Times Square!**

**Applesandoranges: It's Spider-Man's fault. He fucked up and that girl died. **

**MousybutSassy: Dude, fuck off. You saw the stream, he tried everything he could. That POS Arcade screwed him at the end cause he wanted to murder that girl.**

**ITalkToDragonS: Yeah, he fucking executed that guy. **

**AllNaturalDudeBro: Dude, FUCK that guy. Anyone who kills kids deserves a bullet to the head. Wish Spider-Man did more.**

**AlterEgo: Hear, hear. **

**MousyButSassy: That Bullseye guy killed the rest of those rich assholes. He just dropped out of the grid a year ago. Thought he died since he wasn't with the rest of the Defenders in Times Square.**

**ITalkToDragons: Yeah, but the way he and Spider-Man were talking...think they had a falling out?**

**AlterEgo: Yeah, he didn't sound happy to see him. Well, at least he killed those rich pricks. All of should burn in hell. **

**ITalkToDragonS: Ten bucks says Jameson'll get on his case too.**

* * *

Peter was no stranger to bad dreams. Ever since he woke up in this madhouse he'd had nightmares. Dreams of turning into a giant Lizard, dreams of Gwen beating him to death and then dying in her arms. It was one reason he tended not to sleep, aside from the fact that he didn't much need to. For those first few weeks he woke up with cold sweats hearing those damn justifications over and over again.

_I wanted to be special, just like you. _As if that justified everything.

Eventually the nightmares did stop after Moon told him the truth of what he was. Then the dreams were replaced by that looming, existential dread. Not knowing who he really was, finding out about his 'brother', Matt and Jack setting their sights on him. It was a miracle he hadn't blown his brains out, though he would've been lying if he said he wasn't tempted at times. A bullet to the head was at least quick.

Now his dreams were about dead little girls.

Peter woke up in a cold sweat, his breaths ragged and his mouth parted slightly. He didn't scream, didn't struggle or have tears in his eyes. Months of nightmares made him used to keeping himself quiet. His old apartment didn't have thin walls and everyone minded their own business, but it was still good manners not to draw attention to yourself. The couple selling guns were polite and made sure there was no gunfire inside the walls, which was nice of them.

"...Damn it." He brought his right hand through his sweat-soaked hair and face and looked up at the ceiling above. Judging by the small peeks of sunshine coming from the windows it was just a few minutes past sunrise. Later than his usual wake-up call; usually he was up and about before the sun was peeking over the horizon.

He tried to stand only for him to notice the vice grip on his left arm. Looking down he found Gwen sleeping close by, both arms wrapped tightly around the aforementioned limb. And drooling into his shirt. Sighing, Peter carefully untangled his arm from hers and swung his leg over the edge of the building. For a second he almost forgot where he was.

It'd been four days since they survived Arcade's twisted 'game'. Four days since Gwen had doubled down on being mama spider and insisting that he stay over at her house so she could keep an eye on him. He didn't mind at first, but it became pretty obvious soon after that keeping an eye on him was meant literally. If it wasn't her it was someone else keeping guard over him to make sure he didn't run around like a headless chicken.

It wasn't that he didn't understand. It was one thing to know the people you loved were in danger, it was another thing entirely to watch from a screen as they had to fight for their lives. Gwen had to live with that for years even before she had powers. She told him about the nights when she stayed up after her dad didn't come home for dinner or how sick she felt when she heard that her dad once got taken to the hospital. It made her protective of those she cared about even before she hit double digits.

Still, that didn't mean he didn't feel at least a little frustrated at being grounded.

He'd barely made to stand before Gwen wrapped her arms around him and nuzzled into his neck, "'s too early. Go back to sleep..." she mumbled, breath hot against his skin.

He was tempted to, but he knew if he closed his eyes he'd see that little girl again. See her wide, tears eyes full of fear, hear her voice as she tried to cry and scream through the gag before that bastard...

"Not sleepy," he said softly.

Gwen groaned sleepily and loosened her grip on him, "Fine, let's go." He didn't bother telling her she could sleep in. It was part of the arrangement now - someone always had to be there to keep an eye on him. He'd called her paranoid, but he did try to sneak out the second morning in. Probably would've gone for a another go if she hadn't threatened to web him down and plop him in front of the tv with Webflicks on loop.

Least he could still go to the bathroom on his own.

Gwen yawned and let the little blob jump to her. It (she? the whole pregnancy thing made him confused) also kept an eye on him. Probably helped that, like him, it didn't much need sleep, "Come on, let's go get breakfast. I gotta go soon." Right. Early morning classes then she had to go out searching for whoever put that bounty on his head. Would've been easier if she let him go out and find the source on his own, but she didn't wanna risk another Arcade grabbing him.

The place was still empty by the time they got down. Captain Stacy and Jones (she hadn't taken the name Stacy) were fast asleep while Ben, May and Helen - who'd chosen to extend their stays out of worry - were in their motels. They'd all come back in a couple of hours. The guilt trip of seeing them kept him pacified and they damn well knew it.

Without thinking Peter opened the fridge and began to hash out the ingredients he'd use. Despite only being here for a few days he'd already gotten used to some kind of routine. It helped that he was the only decent cook in the house outside of May - Jones subsisted on whiskey and takeout, Gwen just bought corndogs and chocolate en masse and Captain Stacy seemed to think protein drinks were good enough; a sentiment he agreed with.

The little blob plopped back onto the table. Gwen made a token effort to wait for him before she decided it wasn't worth it. Peter set a quick chocolate confection to simmer while making his, Captain Stacy's and Jones' shares. They'd wake up soon.

Soon enough they were all sat around the dinner table with barely enough room to bump shoulders. Peter picked at his honeyed ham and tried not to think about how odd this still felt. Slowly but surely he was getting used to the idea of a 'normal' life. Still, it wasn't easy to just slide into it, not after months of traveling the world and having to survive in Middle East foxholes, snowy Siberian caves or, worst of all, France.

"Come on, Helena. Say ahhhh~" Gwen smiled brightly as she slowly lifted the spoon of baby mush to the cheery baby's mouth. Peter looked down to hide his own smile and started to cut the meat. Yeah, he could definitely get used to this.

"What time do your classes start, honey?" Captain Stacy asked.

"In a couple of hours. Don't worry, I won't be late." She pulled the middle and ring finger of her right hand back and made a 'thwip' noise, the smile still as bright as ever, "I'm gonna meet Cap after to see if we can figure something out about Pete's...situation." The multi-million dollar price on his head. Even Captain Stacy got worried when he heard about it, and Peter was pretty sure the man hated him.

"You think she can help you?" Jones asked. Peter had to admit, seeing her out of her regular leather jacket and jeans was odd. The oversized gray shirt and boxer shorts was a different look, "You said yourself that some guy from Roxxon corp made the hit. I don't think Captain America's got a good check on corporations. Not unless Roxxon asked for her advertising rights."

"It's better than doing nothing," Gwen replied, eyes still glued to her baby sister, "Besides, what do you suggest?"

"You keep going after the mercs. Eventually someone'll know something about who hired them and you can go up from there." That was the annoying thing about this. All Long John Silver told him was that Roxxon took out the hit on him. That meant anyone from the current CEO to a pissed off scientist with enough money was fair game.

"Except the only way to do that would be to dangle Peter like bait, and I'm _not_ going to do that." Peter refrained from mentioning that he was, in fact, still here despite them acting like he wasn't, "Look, I know this isn't ideal, but it's the only choice we got. It wasn't just Peter who got put at risk. There were other innocent people caught in that asshole's games." Caught and died.

"...Better they come after me than running around after someone else," Peter said eventually, "That piece of garbage Arcade was a killer before I even got my bounty. That girl...I failed her, but at least Arcade's dead. He won't be adding any more bodies to that pile." Neither would Long John Silver or any other assassin greedy or confident enough to come after him.

"That's...not a healthy viewpoint, Peter," Captain Stacy said. Peter refrained from rolling his eyes; he didn't want to make a worse impression than he already did, "Gwen's right, better that you find a way to get rid of this bounty so you don't have go through that again."

He didn't just mean those deranged games. Everyone looking at a screen saw him execute Arcade with those rich pricks dying soon after. According to the new _'97% of the public considered it justified and lauded his behavior'_, tough there were a few outspoken cries of vigilante execution and murdering a surrendering man. Jameson was leading the cry, as expected, though he at least had the decency to say Arcade was human filth even if he did deserve a fair trial.

Probably helped that they were rich. Rich criminals always rubbed people wrong.

"We're _not_ using you as bait." Gwen narrowed her eyes at him, "Jess, Norah and Cindy are already looking things up on their end and Cap should..._will_ have something. You just have to be patient."

"I can't stay for too long, Gwen. The Hand isn't going to wait forever." And he had to make sure the his 'team' didn't kill each other while he wasn't looking. Matt was one smug comment away from Lockley breaking his jaw and he still had no idea what the deal with Echo was. Or how she was even alive after that dunk she took. Any time he tried to ask it was like he was talking to a wall.

The only thing that kept him him from leaving right now was Page assuring him that Bullseye didn't remember who Gwen was. All he remembered was him, Matt, Lana and that night at the Hand's baby factory. He still worried over Lana falling victim, especially after Bullseye took the knife, but he knew she could take care of herself. The new powers helped, and so did her telepathic housemate.

"Please, they've been alive for like a million years. Then can wait a few days for you to kick their ass."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." The symbiote finished off its chocolate and nuzzled against his arm appreciatively. It was like a cat sometimes, "Look, I'm gonna go to the garage. Who's gonna be my babysitter?"

"I guess that'd be me," Captain Stacy said with a wry smile, "Just lemme finish my food."

15 minutes later and he, Captain Stacy and Helena were all situated in the garage. Peter powered over the table containing the disassembled webshooter along with a pair of gloves and boots. Gwen insisted he stay in but that didn't mean he had to be bored. So far he'd spent a few days just tinkering with Wasp's gear. That damn elevator 'game' really made him realize just how dangerous it was not to have a backup.

He finished tinkering with the glove and put it on his hand, "Alright, let's try this again." He looked up to the low roof and jumped. Captain Stacy's eyes followed him and Helena started laughing as Peter hung off one hand on the ceiling.

The adhesive surface faded and he fell to the ground with a dull thud, "Need to find a way to make them last longer." Gwen's webs tended to last for at least an hour. So far his attempts to coat the surface of the glove with web as makeshift adhesive was going slow. It was good if he wanted to crawl or run up a wall since the webs constantly dissolved and reformed, but if he wanted to stick like a spider he'd need a way to better control the timing.

"You're really good at that," Captain Stacy said. Peter nodded and continued to look down, "...Hey, you ever thought about using that for something other than vigilante work?"

"Sometimes." He started re-assembling the webshooter, "Wasp offered to try and find me something a year ago for Gwen's sake, but..." He clicked the trigger back into place, "Always too busy. Always some other mad clown with a mask and thirst for blood." Matt, Jack, Frost, Sin Eater...he didn't even have to go out of his way to find them. This place just attracted the psychopaths.

"You know Ben and May worry about you. Gwen and Helen too."

"Yeah, and I'm guessing you and Jones worry about Gwen every time she puts on a mask. I do too." He set down the re-assembled webshooter and turned to face the older man, "You don't like me much, do you?"

"That's an odd change of topic."

"Call it curiosity." Peter knelt in front of him and reached a hand out to the mumbling baby. She immediately grabbed his pointer finger with both hands and held onto it tight, "We never really talked about Bullseye sending me those pictures." Jack bombing a train station and then his face getting broadcasted put it all out of their minds.

That and Bullseye died pretty soon afterwards...

"No, we didn't..." Captain Stacy's hold on the baby tightened, though not enough for her to loosen her grip on Peter's finger, "...I'll admit I still have my doubts. When you and Gwen were kids I played at giving a hard time, but I wouldn't have minded if you two got together."

"What changed your mind?"

"The Lizard." Neither of them said a word. Helena tried to twist and pull his finger around without a care, "For two years I thought Spider-Woman was a murderer, that she took my daughter's best friend and...broke her. When I found out who she was I investigated. Gwen couldn't have killed her best friend, not without a reason. Even two years later she still missed him...you."

"I'm the one who turned your little girl into a killer, you mean." Peter smiled up at him sardonically, "Tell me something: if you knew who I was, why didn't you ever tell anyone?"

"Because Gwen didn't want to. She didn't want the Lizard to be your legacy." Helena finally let go of his finger and started nibbling on her own hand, "Even after Captain America offered her a chance to absolve herself it took her months to even consider it. It took Ben and May arguing that they could take the fallback for her to agree, and even now a part of her feels guilty."

"Always carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders." Peter finally looked up to meet his gaze, "So how do you feel now? The Lizard come back as a killer vigilante."

"I've seen the things you've done, the 'friends' you've made. I can't agree with everything that you've done, but..." He took a deep breath, "Gwen trusts you - loves you - and that means I trust you too. I may not agree with some of your methods, and I probably never will, but you're more like her than you want to admit. Always trying to be everywhere at once, even when you know you can't be."

"Speaking from experience there, Captain?"

"Heh, just might be." He chuckled wryly and suddenly offered Helena up to him, "Wanna hold her?"

"...Sure."

He took the baby in his arms and carried her with no small amount of hesitation. Helena babbled and tried to reach a hand out to his face, "...This kid's gonna have an insane life." Dad was the guy who took down the former Kingpin, mom was a superpowered P.I and her older sister was Spider-Woman. Oh, and her godmom was Hawkeye, which was another can of worms entirely.

"Yeah, it'll be...something." Captain Stacy chuckled again, "...You know Gwen wanted you to be the Godfather."

"Bad idea."

"She doesn't seem to think so. Jessica seems fine with it, mostly cause she doesn't know anyone else for the job with Kate and her sister already filling in roles." He accepted Helena back, "You should talk to her about it."

"Sure. Right after we deal with her wanting me to go to college."

* * *

**Dragonkin: **No one's seen Spider-Man in days. Wonder what happened to him?

**BG3:** He and the rest of the new Defenders got caught in some fucked up death game. If I was him I'd lay low for a bit.

**DepartmentOfButtKicking:** Lol, Spider-Mans running with his tail between his legs. Kinda sad when you have to get your your girlfriends to save you.

**StrikerNotBombshell:** You're just jealous he has some. Go cry to someone who cares.

**Monsterin69: **The rest of the Defenders are MIA too. Still don't know how that ninja lady survived that fall. Any idea, **StrikerNotBombshell**?

**StrikerNotBombshell**: Fuck if I know. Didn't even know she was someone Pete was teaming up with till I saw em in that game.

**BG3:** Aren't you part of the Defenders?

**StrikerNotBombshell:** You guys were the ones who called us that. We all just teamed up cause we wanted to stop that possessed prick Murdock. We aren't friends; the only one I liked was Pete.

**BlackCatHardy: **Oh? And here I thought we were getting along, _Bombshell_.

**StrikerNotBombshell: **Of fuck off pussycat.

* * *

Gwen swung over to the designated meeting place, one hand holding onto a web and another pressing a phone against her ear, "You sure you got it, MJ?"

"_Yes_, I'm sure. Trust me, Tiger's being a good little boy and staying still."

"Good. Make sure he doesn't disappear or anything. He loves to do that." She cut the call and and put the phone back into her 'pocket'. She knew he was getting impatient and honestly she couldn't blame him. If someone told her to sit still and let everyone else handle the problem then she wouldn't take it well either.

**'Then why are you keeping Peter inside?'**

_'Because I saw him almost die over a dozen times and there was nothing I could do about it.'_ Yes, she was being a hypocrite. She could live with it. She'd made more than her fair share of compromises the past year,_ 'Besides, it keeps him away from Murderdock and Page.' _She still had no idea how Peter could trust either of them after the crap they pulled.

The place Cap asked to meet up in was a relatively high condo with an open terrace; high enough that no one could peek in without being really obvious about it. Gwen landed close to the pool and walked inside through the blacked out glass doors.

The interior didn't math the exterior. The inside was dimly lit with nothing but the most spartan accommodations - a table with a couch in the living room and another table with just three chairs and a refrigerator at the dining area. The place was dimly light with the windows covered entirely in curtains and blacked out glass. Seemed more like a prison cell than anything.

Cap was sitting on the dining table, a plain sandwich and a bottle of water untouched in front of her. She was lucking her customary reds, white and blues in favor of a plain white shirt and a pair of dark sweatpants and sneakers.

The occupant matched the place, at least.

"Nice place." Gwen whistled.

Cap smiled slightly up at her, "Thanks. I've had it for a while." She uncapped the water and began drinking as Gwen sat down across from her. She pulled off her mask and set it between them, "I'm sorry for the sparse accomodations, but you contacted on relatively short notice and I just came back from a mission."

"Yeah, dealing with the M.O.D.A.A.K remnants in the Mexican border. It was all over the news last night." She leaned forward slightly to look the older woman up and down. No injuries or anything, but the bags under her eyes weren't comforting, "...What is this place anyway?" Gwen asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"My place."

"Uh...seems a bit..."

"Barren?" Cap gave a single, wry laugh, "Yeah, I know. Peggy and Jen keep trying to make me buy more, but I'm used to it. Going through dimensions for decades, you try not to get too attached. Makes it harder to leave."

"What, you planning to leave?" If she did Gwen had no idea who'd take over the Avengers.

"God no, but...sometimes I stayed just a few minutes in a dimension, but one time I spent almost 20 years. Almost settled down there with that world's Steve." She leaned back slightly and Gwen nodded sympathetically. Cap apparently had something with Steve Rogers back in the 40's before that portal took her on a dimensional road trip. Coming back to find out he was old and gray and practically banging down death's door hurt.

"So why not splurge?"

"I guess I'm still trying to get used to the idea that this is home. Gimme another decade or two." Another laugh, slightly more bitter this time, "But we're not here to talk about me. You're here about the bounty on Peter's head."

"Right...so, any luck?"

"You know corporate politics aren't my thing." Gwen sighed and stared down at the table. She expected that, but that didn't mean she wasn't disappointed, "But that doesn't mean I can't help you."

As if on cue, the elevator let out a soft ding and she heard the telltale sound of a cane tapping against the ground. Gwen froze briefly before quickly grabbing her mask and lowering into a crouched, battle-ready position.

The man with the cane was not, in fact, Murdock. It was an older man wearing a primly pressed gray and white suit. His wrinkled face - he was easily in his 50's or 60's - was impassive and the dark shades blocked his eyes from view. The only noticeable color on him was the head of red hair, but even that was slicked back into an even cut and had streaks of gray dotted across the surface.

He raised a brow slightly down at her, "If you're expecting a fight then you're gonna be disappointed." His voice was rough and scratchy, the sound of someone who'd smoked too many cigarettes in his lifetime.

"Right..." Gwen stood back up slowly. She stared at the cane on his right hand then to the leg he was leaning on. Different kind of cane, "Uh...who are you?"

"This is Henry Peter Gyrich," Cap said, "He's a...I guess you could call him a friend."

"A friend? You're being generous. Let's call it like it is: we tolerate each other." He limped to the spare chair and sat down slowly. Gwen still hadn't moved, "If you'd prefer to remain standing that's fine. I won't be long." He pulled a folder from his coat and set it on the table, "I assume you're already aware that that the one who put a price on your boyfriend's head is the Roxxon corporation?"

"Yeah, uh..." Gwen shook her head, "Uh, sorry, but could you tell me who you are? Are you a private investigator or..."

"A private investigator? Hah, wouldn't that be something." He gave her an open toothed smile. It looked fake, "No, I work for the government. I won't bore you with the details, but rest assured, Ms. Stacy-" She froze, "-that I know who you are and have no intention of using that to blackmail you or force you to do my bidding. I'm a man of pragmatism and I don't much enjoy the idea of poking the Spider with a stick."

"What, you're telling me you're a fan?"

"God no." He finally let go of the cane and leaned back on his chair, "If you're asking if I like you or the others of your trend? No. Do I trust you? Not in particular." Gwen crossed her arms and just waited for him to continue, "But despite all that do I think you all are the better alternative? Without a doubt."

"So glad to have your approval." She rolled her eyes.

"We live in an insane time, Spider-Woman. Alien invasions, demons appearing in Times Square, terrorists who use mad science and magic instead of zealots with bomb vests. I'd like to go back to living in a time where I understood the threats and knew how to counter them, but we don't live in that time anymore. Without The Avengers and the Initiative those green men would've had us dead to rights. Without Spider-Man and his ragtag group of psychopaths that demon would've continued its madness for decades - centuries - more."

"What he means is that he's on our side until we prove otherwise," Cap said.

"I'm also one of the reasons, besides this city's mad adoration of you, why your boyfriend doesn't have a noose around his neck anymore," Gyrich continued, "Some cops would love nothing more than to hang Spider-Man up on the wall and pat themselves a job well done. But I'm not a fool. Just a few days ago he and another man identifying himself as 'Blade' were the only reason Vampires - because we needed more insanity in this place - didn't kill off an entire school. It would've made every school shooting look like a paintball match if they weren't there. If we lose Spider-Man then that's one less hero who tackles that madness free of charge."

"I get it, it's in your best interest he survives and that's why you're helping me. I speak government double speak." Well, not really, but she picked up some stuff from Cindy, "Could we get back on topic? Who's the guy who put a price on Peter's head."

"I assume you're aware of Donald Roxxon?" Gwen nodded. He opened the file and smack dab on the front were two pictures. One of him smiling in a suit - must've been a press conference - and another, more recognizable one of him with long hair and in costume, "He's officially signing up for the Initiative in a month's time. I guess he thinks being the CEO and the Corporate sponsored hero is a power move of some kind."

"He's the one who put the bounty on Peter?"

"From the intelligence we've gathered, yes." Gwen's hands clenched into tight fists, "We've been observing the Roxxon corporation for a while now. The company has a spotty history involving the weapons trade and human experimentation. Normally it wouldn't be my jurisdiction, but Roxxon Sr. had a habit of selling to the highest bidder, which included the likes of H.Y.D.R.A and S.I.L.K. That _made_ them our problem."

"So how do you know this guy did it?"

"He didn't cover his tracks quite so well. Bank accounts we traced indicated that he tried to siphon millions from multiple accounts into a slush fund, totaling the price of the bounty on your boyfriend's head. Now it could be he's just planning to bribe a politician, but the timing and the individual in question makes me doubt he's just planning to get a fast track on some safety regulations."

"If you already know all this then why not arrest him?'

"On what charges? For us illegally checking his bank account? For putting millions in a fund that he could just as easily say he was planning to donate to charity? He'll be out within the day. And just in case you're thinking of going over there and beating him down, I'd suggest against it. Not only do you have no credible proof you also can't be certain that he doesn't have contingencies in place to up the bounty in case he croaks."

"I wasn't planning on _killing_ him..."

"Be that as it may, I'd suggest against any overt action. It's more than just your boyfriend's life at stake." He flipped a few more papers and showed some blurry pictures of what looked like S.I.L.K's stasis tanks, "We have reason to believe that Roxxon Jr's followed in daddy's footsteps and restarted his experiments. The problem is, again, that all we have to go on are a few blurry pictures sent by some guilt-ridden scientist. He hasn't contacted us again with a location, so I can only assume he dropped off the grid or that leak was plugged."

"Great..." Gwen pinched the bridge of her nose while Webster tried to warm her stomach to calm her down, "So what, we're stuck?"

"Not quite." Cap sighed, "It's quite clear by his social media presence and some interviews that he's fond of Spider-Woman."

"Ugh, just what I needed; another crazy fan." Bad enough that Avril was an admirer, now she had a mad scientist CEO supervillain.

"But it's something you can use to your advantage," Cap said, "If this is true then it's quite possible that the reason for the bounty on Spider-Man's head is tied to you as well." Gwen's eyes narrowed. He didn't like what she was implying, "I doubt it's a coincidence that he received a 20 million bounty on his head so soon after he resurfaced in New York."

"Just get to the point."

"What she's saying is that you might be able to find a way to kill two birds with one stone." Gyrich leaned forward and pressed his hands together, "We have mutual goals. We both want the price on Spider-Man's head removed and I'm sure the idea of innocent people being experimented on doesn't appeal to you either. I suggest trying to endear yourself to him. Earn his trust and we can save both Spider-Man and those people."

"What, you want me to seduce him? If you know who I am then you should know I'm not really a supermodel heiress."

"That doesn't matter. It's quite clear that like many in this city he's simply in love with the idea of Spider-Woman." Just like Peter before that night at prom... "This is all conjecture, of course. It's quite possible he's simply a casual admirer, but it's doubtful. Men like Roxxon don't give admiration out so handily. There's a very decent chance that his admiration for you will be his downfall."

"Makes me sound like some kind of femme fatale there, Henry." She took a deep breath, "Fine. I don't like this, but if it means getting that price off Peter's head and saving those people he's experimenting on, I'll play ball." Guess she'd have to talk to Cindy about some spy lessons. But she was _not_ wearing a scarf, "Just contact me if you need anything. Pretty sure you have my phone number in some super secret database somewhere."

"Sure. Best of luck, Spider-Woman."

Gwen swung out of the depressing condo and swung till she was on a relatively high building. The view of New York in the setting sun calmed her down, however slightly, **'Are you okay, Gwen?'**

_'Not really...'_ She stood up from crouched position on the tip and balanced on one foot with her arms spread, _'It's just...this got way more complicated than I thought it'd be. I thought it'd be some businessman with a grudge, not the fucking CEO.'_

**'We can stop him. Then we'll save Peter and the rest of those innocents.'**

_'Here's hoping.'_ She felt torn knowing just how much attention the government paid attention to Peter. On the one hand she felt happy there was a safety net making sure the cops didn't aim for the face, on the other she couldn't trust that Gyrich guy would keep seeing Peter - or her - as useful forever.

Or maybe she was just being paranoid.

Her prioricard beeped. Gwen pulled it out of her pocket and almost threw it away in disgust when she saw Roxxon asking for a team-up. She got invites from him and Eugene every couple of days for the past week, but she'd been too busy with everything to accept, _'Guess I gotta play spy now.'_ She accepted the invitation and immediately got a GSP ping before she let herself fall back to the ground.

Time to make the guy pay.

* * *

**Ys19:** So real talk. Anyone else think Spider-Man's totally a bottom? Like he acts tough and prickly but he's really a chihuaha?

**No1SpiderManFan:** OMG yes! Like I can totally see that!

**TazmanianAngel:** Really? I always imagined him to be the top. Like, this guy's all primal and angsty and stuff so it fits.

**Ys19:** Nah, you can tell it's all bark when it comes to Spider-Woman. That and she has tentacles, my comrades. He's definitely taking it up somewhere.

**SpiderWomanMadeMeDoThis:** My second post and this is what I find. I'm deleting my account.

**No1SpiderManFan:** Wait, don't go! I need to know who's little spoon!

**Spinerette:** Welcome to the jungle, Pete. It's not fun over here.

* * *

"_Yes_, I'm sure. Trust me, Tiger's being a good little boy and staying still."

Mary Jane waved off Gwen's final warning and cut the call. The redhead pocketed the phone and sighed as she leaned back on her bed. She and Peter were over at her place instead of the Stacy's. He'd begged her that he needed some air; or at least some different wallpaper. It took him a while but eventually she'd caved and agreed on the condition he not try to go invisible on the short walk over.

To his credit, he didn't.

**_'It probably helps that now you're alone with him,'_** Crimson whispered. She ignored it, **_'Your mom and sister aren't here and Stacy trusts you.'_**

_'You gotta ruin everything, don't you?'_

_**'I try.'**_

"Come on, Cin, can't you do something?" Mary Jane smiled at him. He paced in front of a chair on the other end of the small room with his phone glued to his ears. He'd cycled between her, Lana and Norah, trying to see if they could find some way to get past Gwen's Mama Spider antics. So far he hadn't had any luck, and judging by how Cindy sounded on the other end she was tired of his begging.

Peter cut the call after a few more minutes and cursed, "No luck, Tiger?"

"No. Apparently Cindy agrees with Gwen this time."

"Gee, she doesn't want you to get your head cut off. How horrible of her." He threw her a dry look and she shrugged, "Listen, if you're bored you can watch TV. We've got-"

"If you say Webflicks I'm going to shoot myself." He sat down on the chair and brought a hand through his face, "I get why Gwen's worried, but just staying here with nothing to do's making me go insane."

"What about those gadgets you were working on?"

"I'm still waiting for a response from Wasp about the changes I made."

"Well..." Mary Jane bit her lip. It couldn't hurt to _ask_, right? "Hey, back during high school you, or whatever you wanna call him, you were really into photography. Still have the habit?"

"Somewhat? I usually take pictures for proof or when Norah needs something." Yeah, she still called him her photomonkey sometimes, "Why? Need something photographed?"

"Kinda..." She sat up properly and put her hands on her feet, "The modeling gig's still a part time gig and the guy in charge said we could probably do better if we make a portfolio. You know, show off different poses, see how well we can pull off different outfits. It's not a requirement or anything, but they said that it could help out."

"Okay...?"

"Outfits I already got, but problem is I need a photographer. It doesn't have to be uber professional or anything - no green screen or fancy lighting - but I don't think a selfie stick or a timer's gonna cut it." And Norah was too busy still poring over the files Cindy got from that bastard Arcade. She should receive a call from her soon... "So I was wondering if you could..."

"Be your photomonkey?" He grinned wryly, "Sure. Beats just sitting on my keister going nuts. You got a camera?"

"Oh, sure. Should be at the table in Gayle's room. Turn right and it's the first door on the left."

Peter left and Mary Jane immediately locked the door and pulled out clothes from her closet,**_ 'Don't think I don't know what you're doing.'_ **God, where were her headphones when she needed them? **_'Trying to entice him by showing off. Clever girl.'_**

_'Would you shut up?'_

**_'Hey, I'm not complaining. You do whatever you want, little red.'_**

She'd changed into a new outfit - blue blouse, black skirt and boots - when she finally opened the door. Peter blinked then looked her up and down quickly, "Yeah, yeah, not my usual style." She rolled her eyes good-naturedly while he fiddled with the camera, "Sorry, it's pretty old, but the quality should be good. Just need a few pics anyway, show I'm serious about the whole thing."

"Right..."He looked around the room then suddenly pushed her caibinet to the side, "Stand over there. The wallpaper's less noticeable and I don't want any reflections." He dimmed one of the lights, "This should look better too."

"Whatever you say, Tiger."

Mary Jane did her practiced poses. Peter took the pictures quickly, his face passive and focused. She didn't know how to feel about that. It was after the sixth picture that she spoke up, "Hey, I need to change clothes." She gesture to the other scattered clothes on the bed.

"Sure, I'll leave-"

"You don't have to," she said before she could stop herself. An awkward quiet settled over the room and Mary Jane said her next words in a rush, "I mean, you can just turn around. I'm sure you won't peek..."

**_'You want him to, though.'_**

"Uh...sure. Just tell me when you're done."

He turned around and stared resolutely as the wall as she began to take off her clothes. The heavy silence had returned, broken only by the sounds of shifting cloth. Mary Jane tried to ignore how sensitive the clothes suddenly felt against her skin or how loud Crimson was laughing, "I'm done..." A short sleeved hoodie, skinny jeans and chucks. Something a bit more her speed.

The process repeated for every outfit. 4-6 pictures each, change into a different one, repeat; and each time Mary Jane was tempted to look back. She didn't know what she expected to find. Did she think he'd peek? Would she had been disappointed or relieved when he didn't?

"You can turn around now." A dark red flannel shirt, jean shorts and sandals. Not enticing, but not every model had to be dressed up like arm candy, "We just need 4 or 5 more then we're done."

"Sure. No problem." He smiled awkwardly.

He snapped the pictures quickly and soon enough they were sitting side-by-side on the bed poring over the photos to choose the best ones. The guy suggested 10-15 at the most to avoid being too clogged, "This looks good." Peter tapped the screen. The picture was her sitting with her back against the wall and her arms wrapped around her jean-covered knees, "We should get at least one or two from every outfit."

"Sure." She had no idea what possessed her to say what she did next, but it was too late to stop once she did, "You know...they did suggest other kinds of photos."

And then she started unbuttoning her shirt. Peter's eyes widened briefly before he suddenly grabbed her right hand, "What are you doing?"

"Some models do lingerie and swimsuits. I figured it'd be better if we added a couple, you know?" The excuse sounded pathetic even to her. Peter let go of her hand slowly and they just stared at each other, her hands still holding onto the middle of the flannel. Her red bra peeked through the gap, "I mean, only if you want. It's just a couple of photos. Not like I'm gonna go au naturel."

_**'You keep telling yourself that.'**_

"I...I'm not sure if-"

Footsteps. Mary Jane jumped off the bed and managed to unbutton her shirt just as Gayle opened the door without even knocking, "Hey, MJ. Mr. Stacy's downstairs and he's asking for Spider-Man."

"Guess your babysitting gig's over, huh?" Peter gave her a forced, wry smile.

"Yeah..." Gayle looked between them in confusion.

Mary Jane waited till the two men left and Gayle was back in her room before she took the train out to the city. 10 minutes later she was standing on top of a large building and staring down at traffic below, 'hair' whipping in the wind. No had seen her yet.

_'Damn it, I'm such an asshole...' _After everything Peter and Gwen did - were _still doing_ \- for her she still thought she had to right to butt in and ruin what they had? God, what the fuck was wrong with her?

**_'Why are you making such a big deal out of this?'_**

_'Because they're my friends!'_ She mentally shouted back,_ 'Friends don't...I owe them too much to be the one that ruins things.'_

_**'It's funny. You worry more about this than the people you killed four days ago.'**_

Her biting response was cut off when her phone suddenly vibrated. She saw Norah's picture and answered the call, "What's up?"

"I found our slippery little eel." Her hold on the phone tightened, "Jason Turner, father of the now-deceased Madelyn Turner. He's in New York."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. Guy doesn't have much, so I don't think he could afford to have someone smuggle him out. Was probably why he wasn't in Arcade's list with the rest of his clients." There was a pause, "Are you sure you wanna do this, MJ?"

"Could you get this guy arrested?"

"With Arcade dead? Not gonna lie, it'll be pretty hard. I had to scrounge up some of my slimier contacts. Apparently Turner's got a bit of a rep for being particularly slimy." No shit. Even most lowlives wouldn't sell their fucking _kid_, "I just...I wanna make sure you know what you're doing."

"I think it's a bit late to ask that, Norah."

"Yeah..."

Mary Jane cut the call and waited for her to text the location, **_'Finally.' _**Crimson practically cheered. Mary Jane rolled her eyes and swung to the location. It was just 15 minutes away by webswinging.

She wasn't alone when she got there.

Mary Jane landed behind the red-clad figure, "What the hell are you doing here?"

Daredevil turned around and she really wanted to punch the grin off his face, "Same as you, I suppose." He pointed to the rusted hunk of metal that served as a door, "That's where the person you're looking for is. It's one of his dens."

"...How the hell do you know about that?"

"You weren't the only one searching for him," he replied vaguely, "Come on then, you first."

"Gee, thanks."

The door wasn't even locked. Mary Jane opened the door and almost retched when the smell hit her. That perfect cocktail or booze, piss, 'fluids' and b.o. Daredevil scrunched his face up slightly behind, "That's a rather...pungent odor." Mary Jane nodded slightly and practically pulled the door off its hinges before stepping inside. She felt dirty already.

The place was, to put it elegantly, an absolute trash hole. No furniture or personal items apart from a ratty sleeping bag and the man himself on the other end of the room far away from said sleeping bag. Mary Jane wrinkled her nose and tried to ignore the uncomfortable smack of something wet hitting her boot. She'd just pretend it was blood or something.

"Whuzza? Whozzere?" Her feelings of disgust only worsened when she saw him in full. He was an older man- at least 40, though the scraggly beard added just a bit more age to him. The ratty hoodie and scuffed up jeans and boots only served to worsen the look, "'f yer lookin' for Dave he's out. Pissed off Ox."

"We're not looking for him." Mary Jane crouched in front of him and then pulled out Madelyn Turner's photo on her phone, "Recognize her."

The waste of skin's eyes widened for just a split second before he quickly looked away, "N-No, sorry. Ya got-"

Mary Jane growled and slammed him against the wall by his neck,**_ "Don't lie to me!"_ **His mouth gaped like a fish and he was too busy wetting himself to even put up a fight, **_"You sold your daughter to that monster!"_**

"I...I didn't! I swear!"

"He's technically correct," Daredevil said behind her, "Given his poor state it's doubtful that Arcade bought the child from him directly. I'm assuming that he sold her to someone else who then sold through intermediaries and eventually she found her way to that little gremlin's hands."

_**"It doesn't change what he did..."**_

"I never said it does. However..." Without any hint of fear he grabbed her wrist and tugged it down gently, "He must know who he sold to, and that information makes his life of value for probably the first time in his life. So, Mr. Turner, would you be so kind as to answer that implied question?"

"But-"

"I could of course just leave this woman here to her previous actions."

"No, no, no, wait! I'll talk!" He screamed in a rush, "Just...Just lemme down and I'll talk!"

**_'Let him down.'_**

_'Seriously?'_

**_'He'll lead us to more meat.'_**

Her grip on his neck tightened briefly and then she set him down on the floor. The guy collapsed butt first and just looked up at them both like someone meeting the grim reaper, "I...I..." He wiped a smudged hand on his sweatstained forehead, "I-I know a guy. S-Saw Maddie and said that...that he'd forgive all my debts 'if I just give her up. Said someone was lookin' for a little girl."

"A name, Mr. Turner. Quit stalling," Murdock said.

"D-Dunno his real name, but...but everyone calls him Fancy Dan."

_'Oh, you gotta be fucking kidding me!' _Mary Jane almost screamed but managed to hold it in at the last second. Fancy Dan? The guy who she'd met like three times now?

Crimson laughed, _**'I told you we should've killed them, but noooo! Sometimes you really do have to just listen to me.'**_

_'Shut up!' _

"Well, that's interesting." Murdock grinned, "I suppose I should leave Scarlet Spider here to her business then."

"Wait." She lashed out and grabbed his wrist, "I'm coming with you." Fancy Dan...she knew that bastard was a piece of work, but this?

"Oh? Well, I won't stop you."

"Hold on." She waited for the piece of human trash to stand up before asking her next question, "Those debts...what were they for?"

"Wh-Why does that-"

_**"Answer me!"**_

"Drugs! Just...I was into some bad shit and I-"

She morphed her hand into a blade and impaled him through the gut. The two of them just stared at each other, his eyes wide and hers narrowed, before she slowly pulled the blade out. All he could do was try to futilely cover the gaping hole with his hands as he sunk to the floor.

"That seemed a bit...excessive." Matt hummed, "Can't he doesn't deserve it, however. Come on, we should go. It'll probably be weeks before anyone finds him. The stench of a rotting body mixes very well with the surroundings."

Mary Jane just watched the blood pool out till it hit the underside of her feet. So much for Gwen's attempts to make her a hero. She looked down at her bloodstained hands and and took a deep breath.

Some people just deserved to die.

* * *

**FarFromHome: **So what's the ship names for everyone?

**1984IsOverrated: **TwoSpiders for Spider-Man and Spider-Woman, everyone knows that.

**CPUGOD: **Spinerette is usually Spin or Ette attached to something. Like pairing her with Spider-Man or Spider-Woman is Spiderette. Or pairing her with Bombshell is Spinshell.

**Avuio:** SpiderDevil's really taking off recently. You could feel the sexual tension the two had a few days ago.

**IHearVoices:** What about Scarlet Spider? Or is she too new for that?

**CPUGOD:** I've already seen one Spinerette/Spider-Woman/Scarlet Spider fic tagged as Neopolitan. Don't think she has any solo pairing names, though.

**StrikerNotBombshell:** Punisher/Spider-Man is Punished Spider.

**CPUGOD:** Always sounded kinda emo to me.

**FarFromHome:** Yo so we're all just gonna ignore Striker shipping two of her ex-teammates?

**CPUGOD:** This is a safe space, dude. No judgement.

**StrikerNotBombshell:** Just curious, is there one for me and Pete?

**CPUGOD:** Yep. Arachnid Boom. It's the same ship name you and Spider-Girl have.

**StrikerNotBombshell:** Least they aren't calling be Bombshell...

**CPUGOD:** Your most popular pairing is Sue Storm. Ship names are Fantastic Due or Explosive Star. I prefer the latter.

**StrikerNotBombshell:** Shit, Sue's gonna _flip_ when I tell her...I look forward to it :)

* * *

**This chapter ended up being rather dark so I used most of the twitter segments to try and lighten the mood. Whether it works or not is up to you, but hopefully this chapter was good regardless.**

**Anyway, the next chapter will be the conclusion to the Mayday omake because I've left that hanging for too long already.**

**Questions:**

**1\. How do you guys feel whenever Gwen gets overprotective of her loved ones, especially Peter and MJ? In this chapter specifically she keeps Peter 'grounded', but it's also not hard to see why she did so considering what happened with Arcade and Noir's tendency to get caught in trouble.**

**2\. Whose story feels the most boring currently? I personally think I'm not doing enough with Gwen so hopefully her dealing with Roxxon and showing off more of the governmental stuff with Gyrich really helps out.**

**3\. Son on a scale of 1 to Creep, how much of a scumbag was Mary Jane for what she did in the room? While it's partly justified in that Carnage reduces her inhibitions a lot of people might see it as too off. **

**Review Answers:**

**Raymond49090rc - Not likely. Ben Grimm's an old cop, Johnny's a teen idol, Sue's an actress and Reed is never mentioned to exist here. Sue does play a pretty big role in Lana's plot, however.**

**Brave2000 - We'll see if Matt keeps his behavior up around MJ. Also, Red Hood story? Backburner. Too busy.**


	22. Tangled Spiders (Mayday Omake 2)

**Hey-ho! Sorry this took a while. Between work, board exam reviews and other stuff I never really had the time to write. Hell, I had to write this one up while at work so it might not be the best quality, but hopefully it's good enough.**

**This is the second and final part of the Mayday omake for Nerdman3000. Not my best work admittedly but I owed the guy and I'm hoping he likes this. Next chapter will focus back on the plot with Cindy and Lana. **

**Side note - Matt's absolutely dominating the love interest poll, though Felicia's catching up. This is gonna be one fucked up pairing...**

**Also, I binge watched You Me Her on Netflix and yeah, polyamory is interesting but so supremely difficult to write due to all the relationship problems, possessiveness and incompatible plans for the future. Would've been interesting for Peter/Gwen/MJ to tackle it, but eh.**

* * *

**MaximumOverdrive:** So legit question time. Why does everyone admire Spider-Woman? She goes around doing the 'superhero' thing, yeah, but it's not like it's hard for her. If I could lift tanks and eat bullets it'd be no big deal for me to fight supervills either.

**shouldvegottentheTURBO:** Who cares if it's easier for her?

**MaximumOverdrive:** Because it doesn't mean anything! Like, if a guy with two arms stops and picks up some litter it's nothing special, but if a guy in a wheelchair does it it's much harder. Spider-Woman stopping crime is like me passing someone food on the table. Its nice, but it's not hard and I don't expect applause for it.

**PeaceandCalmandScreams: **Like the other guy said, who cares? My friend is rich and he pays for our dinner whenever we go out. We don't tell him 'you're rich so it doesn't mean anything'. He's still giving up his time and money for us and we appreciate it.

**shouldvegottentheTURBO: **Yeah dude. If I had super strength and shit I'd just use it to lift the couch whenever the remote got stuck not fight crime. Spider-Womans running around saving people and she did that even when everyone was giving her shit for 'killing' Peter Parker.

**Rolfenmeister:** Also she kinda did help stop an alien invasion and Red Skull's crazy fucking crotch goblin from nuking us.

**MaximumOverdrive:** Ugh, I give up. You fanboys are fucking blind.

**PeaceandCalmandScreams:** Sounds like someone's just salty and trying to be a contrarian.

**Rolfenmeister:** Lol, found Jameson's alt account. Ain't fooling anyone brushhead!

* * *

Mayday leaned back against the bed and tried to keep her breathing level. Mary Jane had rushed her over to the Wasp's place after her 'episode' and the size changing scientist had spent the past couple of hours checking over her condition. She could only thank her lucky stars that she hadn't had another one of those...whatever the hell that was. She wasn't sure she could take another burst.

So far Mayday hadn't done anything but play test subject in the clear room. Spider-Man and Spider-Gwen arrived just a few minutes ago while Spinerette and Striker were still out combing the city for clues. Her episode made it very clear that they didn't have as much time as they thought.

"This is...troubling." Wasp said, eyes still glued to the translucent screen. She looked just like the Wasp she read about as a kid on those old Avengers comics, though apparently in this world Hank Pym was her old mentor instead of her husband. Weird, "Your molecular structure seems to be...fluctuating, if that's the right word. It's as if your existence is a Schrodinger's box."

"English, please?" Mayday asked softly.

"It means you both should and shouldn't be here." Wasp replaced the holographic screen with another while Mary Jane looked on worriedly, "This dimension knows that you don't belong here, and you do as well. Think of it like a dimensional immune system. When foreign substances enter the body the white blood cells rush to incapacitate it before it can spread across the body-

"Meaning I'm the virus in this analogy." She didn't know whether to laugh or feel insulted, "But that doesn't make any sense. I've traveled to other dimensions before and I never had to deal with this." She had to deal with her dad being evil or finding out that in one world Norman Osborn was her godfather, but that was at least manageable.

"Those previous instances were under controlled circumstances, correct?" Mayday nodded, "From what you've told me about how you came here I can only assume that the gate that took you three was unstable. My knowledge on dimensional transportation is rather basic at the moment, but I can infer well enough that without proper tethering you aren't fully transported outside of your dimension."

"That doesn't make much sense either," Spider-Man said, "When my...brother got here with Octavius it wasn't that different from how Spider-Girl got here with her Ock. He and Octavius ended up just fine...for the most part."

"Not every dimensional portal is built the same, especially given the theoretical, and not to mention technological, differences. There's more than one way to pluck a bird, as that saying goes." Uh...Mayday was pretty sure that wasn't how it went, but cool, "However you want to argue this Ms. Parker's state is unstable and if we don't do something soon it will only worsen."

Well...crap. Mayday shut her eyes and took a deep breath to try and calm herself. So much for being a normal day of heroing. A part of her was already kicking herself for all this. Maybe if she'd been more careful in the fight, maybe if she hadn't been so damn cocky and just waited for Darkdevil like he wanted, this wouldn't have happened. Now she was being killed by something she couldn't even fight.

Spider-sense.

The convulsing returned stronger than before. Mayday fell off the bed and landed on the floor on her right side. Spider-Gwen, Spider-Man and Mary Jane rushed in immediately with the latter holding onto her tightly as the quick, painful episode passed, "...That smarts," Mayday muttered. Before thinking better of it she leaned more into Mary Jane's arms and closed her eyes.

"Shit!" Spider-Gwen said loudly. Mayday looked up at her and found the other Spider pacing worriedly, "Okay, okay, okay. We gotta...we gotta get Mayday back. We'll call up Cindy and she can get her old S.H.I.E.L.D friends. They have a portal-"

"I'm afraid it's not that simple, Gwen," Wasp said. Mary Jane helped Mayday up to the bed as the scientist stepped closer, "Finding a portal is only part of the problem. We have no idea which dimension Ms. Parker came from. Blindly going through universes hoping we get lucky like Samantha did years ago won't help and will likely deteriorate her condition."

"So what do you suggest we do?" Gwen asked back heatedly.

"We follow the old plan," Mayday said. Her voice sounded a bit weaker than she would've liked, "Ock knows the coordinates to go back. She was planning to steal tech from different universes to get a leg up back in mine. If we can find her she can tell us what we need." Hopefully without having to be 'persuaded'. She was never really good at the growly voice thing.

"Meaning we gotta find em before they leave, cause something tell's me they aren't going to stick around for you..." Spider-Man said.

"Yeah, never was one for carpooling." Mayday grinned, though it was obviously forced, "Have they had any luck?"

"Nothing so far." Spider-Gwen frowned, "Norah's trying to look up any tech stolen or power fluctuations like you said, but so far she's still chasing smoke. Cindy and Lana haven't had much luck either."

"Great..."

"Here." Wasp handed Mayday a watch which the teenager put on without a word. The screen showed numbers counting down, "I've done my best to try and gauge the time between your spasms. I can't remove them, but this should allow you to brace yourself and prepare. Better than being caught unawares while webswinging or in the middle of a fight."

"Thanks." Mayday smiled and nodded gratefully. Even with how messed up things were she genuinely felt thankful for how much help she was getting from the others.

"I wish we could do more..." Spider-Gwen mumbled. Mayday wondered idly if the one her dad knew was just like her, "Me and Pete'll go out and continue searching. You stay here with MJ and-"

"Not gonna happen." She pulled herself into a shaky stand, "You heard what Wasp said, the timer's counting down." She raised her wrist. The ticking numbers were just a little under two hours, "Taking it easy isn't an option here."

"She's got a point, Gwencent. Staying here won't help her." Mary Jane said.

"Agreed." Spider-Man said last.

"Alright, alright, I know when I'm outnumbered." Gwen rolled her eyes and threw her hands up, exasperated, "We should go with you in pairs, though. I don't want you going around alone considering you're glitching out."

"Better than calling me a virus," she snarked, "So, who's gonna be my partner?"

The three of them looked at each other in turn. Mary Jane looked like she was about to speak up but Gwen beat her to it, "I'll take first watch. MJ already helped you out earlier and we can move faster. Pete can't webswing." He couldn't? That was weird She kinda just assumed all of them could do it, "Besides, Peter's contacts are a bit on the, um..."

"Let's just say they aren't much fans of Superheroes." Mayday's eyes narrowed. What the heck did _that_ mean? "Don't gimme that look. They aren't criminals, they just don't like most people in costumes. Living below the poverty line tends to make you resent the people up on billboards."

"And they don't resent you?" Mayday asked

"You see any billboards with me on it?" Just the one, but she got the feeling neither he or Spider-Gwen appreciated it, "Look, all I'm saying is it'll be easier without the Superheroes hanging around."

"Alright, point made." He reminded her way too much of Darkdevil right now.

They all said their goodbyes to Wasp and she and Spider-Gwen went out to the usual villain hotspots, as Gwen called them. No Ocks or Canis', but they did run into a bunch of other costumed travelers of the night. A group being led by someone called White Rabbit particularly ticked Gwen off along with another guy dressed like the Hamburglar robbing a bodega.

Both of them also claimed to be her arch-enemy, which Spider-Gwen vehemently denied. Mayday could sympathize.

It lasted for a couple of days. Every few hours they switched up 'babysitters' and traversed their usual haunts. Except for Spider-Man. He justified it by saying he wasn't as fast as the others but Mayday definitely didn't miss how cagey he could be sometimes. It probably had something to do with where he ended up being compared to the others.

She definitely didn't miss the blood on his knuckles.

"Here." Mayday took the offered corndog and Spider-Gwen sat next to her on the edge of the building. So far their current patrol had turned up zilch and she'd already had another. It was why they decided to stop and go for a break, "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, I've had worse. Remind me to tell you about the time I lost my powers cause some jerk electrocuted me." That wasn't a fun time, even if riding the gliders was kinda cool, "So..." She clicked her heels against the building wall and looked straight ahead. This place was so..._bright_. Even in the dark of night it was nigh impossible to find a single shadowy corner, "This is what you do everyday?"

"Hm?" Spider-Gwen gave her a sideways glance. Her mask was only pulled up to her nose, masking her eyes from view.

"All this." Mayday gestured to the view in front of them, "This place is..." Weird, crazy, vibrant? In her world there were the Avengers, but this place had the Initiative on top of that. Heck, she just saw a guy with a frog suit fighting the White Rabbit woman from earlier. Apparently he was one of Spider-Gwen's fans.

"A madhouse? That's what Peter calls it, at least." The blonde Spider pulled her mask off and took a deep breath, "Truth be told things weren't so hot. Just a year ago it felt like I was the only one who gave a shit about what happened to this city." Her lips quirked up in a slightly bitter smile, "And of course everyone kept calling me a murderer cause of that shithead Jameson."

"I know him back in my universe. He's...not terrible." He gave her a fair shake, at least.

"Yeah, well, he told everyone I murdered my best friend, so agree to disagree." She finished off the last of her corndog and threw the stick down to the ground. Mayday refrained from making a littering joke, "He's still at it even now. No matter what I do he'll try to find a way to twist it and make me look like this...violent, selfish bitch who doesn't care about anyone."

"Sounds like a mess." Mayday tucked her knees to her chest and continued to look out to the sprawling lights, "Speaking of, what's the story between you and d- Peter? I mean, I saw that billboard..." Mary Jane told her the cliffs notes version, but she still wanted to hear it from Gwen herself.

"That's a whole 'nother can of worms." Gwen sighed, "Peter, he...he wanted to be special. Him and hundreds of other people. Even before the Initiative the thought of having superpowers was just so tempting for some people."

"Yeah. Back home me and my friends were talking once and suddenly everyone was on about what powers they wanted and what they'd do with it. Was pretty awkward when I told them I wanted to be like Wild Thing. That's, uh, Wolverine's daughter. You have a Wolverine here? Short, hairy guy with claws and wears a lotta yellow?"

"Uh, no, but we have a Shadowcat. Close enough, I guess." Gwen shrugged, "Anyway, Peter stole a serum from Doctor Connors and tweaked it. He...Doctor Connors wanted to use the serum to help people who lost limbs. War vets and construction workers who wanted to hug their kids again, you know? And he wanted to use Lizard DNA to get it."

"I've heard this story before..."

"Yeah, well, in my version Pete figured that if it could help people get their body back it could do more. And it did: turned him into a giant Lizard."

"Mary Jane gave me the rundown on what happened," Mayday said softly, "I'm still confused on how he came back. She said whatever gave him his powers brought him back with his memories messed up?"

"You could say that..." Gwen said, "Alright, we gotta go back to the beginning. See there was this Spider-Man - another Peter Parker - from the 1930's Great Depression time who got taken here six years ago. He was taken by this group called S.I.L.K and they...well, let's just say it wasn't pleasant."

"I can imagine."

"Three years ago Peter...died." Gwen took a slow, deep breath, "I...don't want to go back to it, so let's say that at the end of it I was holding his dead body and Jameson figured Spider-Woman was easier to get people to hate than the Lizard who disappeared without a trace. So there was a couple of years of me being hunted down by the police while trying to do the hero thing. Oh, and my dad was leading the task force at the time. Not fun."

"Ouch..." Mayday winced, "If it makes you feel any better you weren't the only one who had it rough. A few months ago I trusted this crime lord Black Tarantula and even Canis and they just used me to try and take out their competition." She still slapped herself sometimes for falling for it. At least Canis ended up in jail...as soon as they found him again.

"Us Spiders have a bad habit, huh?" Gwen smiled wryly, "Anyway, what happened afterwards is kinda complicated. Peter died, the other Spider-Man died, Peter came back and thought he was the other Spider-Man then the other Spider-Man came back...it was just this giant clusterfuck." She cursed a lot, even more than April, which was a feat all on its own.

"Hope you don't mind me saying, but he doesn't seem like someone who'd inject himself with the Lizard serum." And he definitely didn't act like any kind of Spider-Man she saw before.

"He's not really 'my' Peter, but he's not the other Spider-Man either. I...we're not really sure who he is at this point, but we've accepted that. At least he's alive..." That last one was said in a soft whisper and Mayday wondered if Gwen meant for her to hear it, "But really, enough about me. I wanna talk about you. What's it like being a second generation superhero?"

"Honestly? Not as great as you'd think. Dad wasn't a fan at first. I mean I get why, but I was pretty ticked off too considering he started at my age. He still gets overprotective sometimes. Other than that school's been kind of a mess. Had to drop out of the basketball team cause powers was just cheating and I couldn't date cause of the whole double life thing." Not to mention Normie and Franklin decided she was just too young to date. Nevermind the fact that apparently she wasn't too young to put her neck on the line.

"Yeah, it was like that for me too. Things got better after my dad and the rest of my friends found out, but it was pretty touch and go for a while there." Gwen was quiet for a moment with her next words coming out in a whisper, "What are...what's Peter and MJ like? Back in your dimension?"

"It's kinda hard to describe them. I mean, dad's dad and mom's mom." Mayday shrugged helplessly, "Sometimes dad puts on the costume again and it's..._weird_ how all of my friends flock up to him asking for autographs and stories. Dads the guy who trains me and gets on my case about boys. It's kinda hard to reconile that with the guy who helped save the city and the world multiple times, you know?"

"My dad was pretty much a cop 24/7. When I was younger I sometimes resented him for it, but I realized later he was doing his best to raise me with mom gone."

"My mom - Mary Jane - felt more like a friend than a mom sometimes. She was pretty supportive of me putting on the mask, even made up the Spider-Shoppe - that's a costume that sells Spider-Girl merch - for me and Benjy's college fund." She paused, "Never thought I'd see a universe where she ended up becoming a hero."

"A hero..." Gwen looked down, masking her face from view again.

"...What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, it's just...MJ's done some things and I can't be sure if..."

"If it's the Carnage symbiote?" Gwen gave her a wide-eyed look, "What happened?"

"She...She's been killing people." Mayday's hands balled into shaky fists. It was to be expected considering the monster she was attached to, but that didn't stop the feeling of disgust that rolled over her, "So far she's only gone after people who got off without going to jail. She said she's only going after people who escape what they deserve and that she always gives people a chance, but..."

"God..." The thought of any version of her mom taking a life was just... "So...what are you doing?"

"Trying to teach her that there are other ways. It's been...slow going." Gwen smiled bitterly, "She's not the only one. Peter kills, Cindy kills, even Lana kills. Feels like everyone's telling me I should just accept it and it's part of growing up, but a part of me still can't let go."

"Yeah..." Darkdevil and Kaine were on her case about that too. Maybe they were right, but that didn't mean she was just gonna take it lying down. Desperate to change the subject, Mayday said the first thing she could think of, "...Mary Jane's not the only one with a partner. You have a symbiote too, right?" The way her suit moved around was just a bit too familiar.

To her credit Gwen didn't even seem slightly surprised by the question. The blonde smiled and a small, smooth, snake-like thing jutted out of her shoulder, the dark surface dotted with a pair of white eyes and a little tongue. It looked far less monstrous than Mary Jane's, "**Hello.**" She sounded just like Gwen, though there was a noticeable reverb to her voice.

"Hey." She offered a hand and the 'snake' wrapped herself around it briefly before retreating back to her Other's side, "I've had some experiences with being attached to a symbiote too."

"**I don't sense one on you,**" Venom(?) said.

"No, she...she gave her life up to protect me, dad and Normie from the Hobgoblin." It didn't erase all the terrible things she'd done with Eddie Brock, but Mayday could empathize with her in those last moments, "And like I told Mary Jane, the Carnage symbiote was an enemy of mine too."

"Guess some things never change." Gwen breathed out softly and smiled while the snake nuzzled up against her cheek, "For what it's worth I'm really sorry you got caught up in all this."

"It's not your fault. I should've been more careful. God, Darkdevil and dad are gonna_ blow up_ on me when I get back." Mayday pulled off her own mask and brought a hand through her sweat soaked hair. Gwen just stared at her, "What? Something on my face?" She grinned.

"No, it's just...you really do look a lot like MJ." Gwen bit her lower lip, "I know this is super weird and all, but could you tell me what 'your' Gwen was like? Cause I only met one other Gwen and I wasn't really a fan."

"I...can't really say, sorry. She was gone way before my time. It took a lot of prodding for him to fess up on why he was so overprotective of me." Mayday took a deep breath, "It wasn't just because he worried I'd be in danger. It's cause he knew that no matter how hard you tried you'll always lose someone. You can't save everyone, and that hurts more than any pumpkin bomb or laser blast."

"Yeah..." Gwen shook her head, "Okay, I don't wanna talk about super depressing shit anymore so let's just...oh, I know: tell me about your Rogues Gallery. Every hero has one of those, right? Or do you call them something else?"

"No we use the same, though some people try to use Villain Manifestos. Think it sounds more refined." Mayday waved a hand through the air, "As for my villains...you already met Ock and Canis, but there were a few others. This crimelord Black Tarantula who thought he was my, ugh, destined mate. There was Hobgoblin, this murderer for hire called Mr. Nobody..."

She listed off all the people she fought. By the end of it she was almost as surprised as Gwen at how many fingers she was using to count off, "Woah, and I thought I had it bad." Gwen blew a tuft of hair out of her eyes and leaned back, legs swinging lazily, "I recognize some of the names, though. Tombstone, Hobgoblin...did you ever figure out who that one was? I'm still trying to look him up."

"No, sorry. I'm still dealing with him myself. He caused this citywide gang war and we just managed to make it stop when I got the call about Ock and Canis." Along with her barely managing to keep April from murdering the guy. Didn't matter what he did; they had to be better.

"Ah well, I'll get him eventually." Gwen suddenly pulled out phone out from...somewhere and read the message quickly, "Huh, looks like Norah and Gabriel found something."

"What is it?"

"Apparently your Doc Ock didn't waste any time. She's already asking around about where to get the best tech, probably to try and build another portal. According to Norah's source an old woman with 'fucking tentacle hentai shit on her back' raised a black market and interrogated everyone." Mayday almost laughed at the casual crudeness of the blonde Spider. She really wondered if she was similar to her Gwen Stacy.

"I guess she's as desperate as I am to get back." Mayday looked at the time and frowned. Just a little over an hour before her next spasm, "We gotta hurry."

* * *

**BlueSkiesClearMind:** Spider-Woman is a complete and total asshole and anyone who thinks she's someone to be admired needs to get their head out of their ass.

**980789:** Oh jeez another one of these? Lemme guess, she didn't give you the autograph you wanted? Didn't show up for your birthday party?

**BlueSkiesClearMind: **I'm not a fucking kid asswipe. I'm just not blind and know that whole 'oh look at me I'm so fucking perfect and super' image is complete bullshit.

**980789:** Wow...who hurt you as a little boy?

**STALKER:** Yeah...what **BlueSkiesClearMind** really means is that he tried to ask Spider-Woman out to a date and be his girlfriend, she said no, and he's been obsessed ever since.

**980789:** So another salty fanboy? How surprising /s

**BlueSkiesClearMind:** So what if I asked her out? I'm still right. What kind of 'superhero' thinks some psycho killer like Spider-Man is better than a perfectly nice guy? An up her own ass bitch, that's who!

**980789:** And you're the 'nice guy' in this scenario? Yea right. I'm not exactly a fan of Spider-Man either but who she dates is really none of our fucking business.

**BlueSkiesClearMind:** Yes it is! Frankly I'm getting tired of how much she's hiding from us. She owes it to us to stop hiding behind masks and let us see who she really is. We deserve more from here than half-assed 'heroism'.

**STALKER:** Dude, you came up to her when she was talking with a kid during a charity event, shoved the kid off and asked her out on a date. What the fuck did you think was gonna happeN? She falls in love with your kid pushing self?

**StrikerNotBombshell:** Hey asshole, fuck off. She doesn't owe you shit. You got rejected? Boo fucking hoo, world's smallest violin. I got rejected too and you don't see me going on tweeter and making an ass of myself.

**BlueSkiesClearMind:** Wasn't asking you _Bombshell_. Go blow up a school or something.

**STALKER:** Dude stop you're just embarrassing yourself now...

**StrikerNotBombshell:** No, actually, just let him rant. Really curious how deep he's gonna dig that hole of his.

* * *

They met up with the rest of the group back in what she found out later was Cindy's place. Mayday looked down at the ticking clock and frowned at the numbers counting down. She _really_ didn't like the idea of going into a fight and getting caught in the middle of an episode, "Took you long enough." Lana looked up from the laptop and slammed it shut, "We doing this or what?"

"I'm still kinda confused on what exactly we're doing," Mary Jane said. Like the others she was in full costume, her abnormally long hair spilling out of the back of her mask. No way that was natural.

"Well according to Norah's sources Ms. Octopus tried to find a cache of tech to try and build something and that she was led to this guy." She showed them the screen of her phone with long, dark hair and glasses, "Doctor Stephanie Gerard, a former member of AIM. Now I don't know what our new resident supervill offered her, but apparently it was enough to get them on her side."

"Ock said she wanted to get tech so she could get an advantage back home. That's probably it," Mayday said.

"So they can't take over here so they're gonna try somewhere else. Why shit on your own bed when you do it on somebody else's right?" Lana snorted, "Whatever they're doing this old bitch is with them and if we wanna get Spider-Girl here back to her own place we're gonna have to take these assholes out."

Mayday looked at each of them in turn - Cindy and Spider-Man reloading pistols, Lana with energy running up her hands and Mary Jane's fingers briefly shifting to claws - and felt her stomach churn, "Hey, let's slow down for a bit here," She said, "Listen, I...I appreciate you all going out of your way to help me, but I don't want anyone to die for my sake. So...if we're doing this then we're doing this right. No killing."

Lana rolled her eyes (rude) while Cindy put both guns back into their holsters and turned to her, "Listen, we'll do our best here, especially since the cops'll want people to interrogate, but these guys are terrorists. If it comes down them or us then it's them. I hope you understand."

Mayday bit her lower lip briefly before nodding, "Alright, just...do your best." This wasn't the first time she'd dealt with this. She abhorred killing but not everyone shared that view. And it wasn't like she didn't get it - police officers, soldiers and many others had to kill. She understood, even if she didn't like it, "So...how are we gonna find out where these guys are camping?"

"That'll be thanks to me, dollface." Mayday (almost) jumped when a nearby chair suddenly swiveled around to reveal-

...

Was that a duck in a suit smoking a cigar?

"What's wrong? Ain't never seen someone with such downy good looks?" The _talking duck_ took a puff of his cigar and stepped off the chair. The fact that he was maybe 3 feet tall ruined any dramatic sense he was attempting, "Here's what you're lookin' for, Moonie." He put a thick folder on the center table, "Ya got my fee?"

"Yeah, yeah. Can't believe I'm getting price gouged by a duck. And Pete was the one who hired you." Cindy rolled her eyes and handed said duck a folded stack of bills. Mayday easily counted well over a grand and immediately felt guilty, "So, mind giving us the cliffs notes version? We're kinda on a time limit here."

"It's your dosh." The duck shrugged, "Me and Spider-Guy looked over the places where these Exchange mooks get their stuff. Apparently they use some of the bums and janitors to steal some tech and get some cheap labor. Most of em didn't know jack from adam, but one guy figured that he needed insurance so he got some notes on drop offs and listed em down. Figured that if these bozos tried to kill him he could use it as leverage."

"Took some persuading but I managed to get the list off him," Spider-Man said. Gwen gave him a _look_ and he rolled his eyes, "He's fine. Just had to get a couple of dealers off his back. Everyone's still breathing."

"So where are these places?" Mary Jane asked.

"Me and Spider-Guy got three of em." Howard opened the folder and flipped to a map with three circled spots. Accordin' to our snitch the first two places are buildings he sees people goin in and out. Last one's a bit trickier. Snitch says it's a dead drop and every time he tries to follow the guy he loses him, so that one you'll need to do some legwork on."

"Dibs on the first building with Cin," Lana said. Peter gave her a sideways glance and she rolled her eyes, "What? You really think I'm good at the whole stalking thing? Never my thing. Spider-Gwen and Jane can deal with the second place while you and Spider-May do grab ass. Doubt any of us'll be useful keeping a low profile."

"I resent that implication," Cindy said lightly.

"You know I don't need help. I can do this on my own," Spider-Man said. Mayday tried not to feel offended.

"I've got some experience tailing people, you know." Spider-Man didn't say anything, "I won't be a bother. Trust me."

"That's not..." He sighed, "Fine, let's just do this."

The dead drop was picked up in the afternoon. Mayday looked down at the watch and grimaced. 30 minutes and counting before her next episode; they were cutting it _really_ close here, "You there?" Spider-Man asked through the earpiece. She looked down over the roof of the building and found him sitting on a nearby bench as the delivery guy - a bearded man in his 40's wearing a heavy coat - passed by.

"Yeah." She pulled the hood of the jacket over her head and jumped to the adjacent rooftop. Spider-Man said it'd be best if they had two points of view. He'd stay at ground level while she stuck to the rooftops.

The fact that it meant she was far away from him didn't miss her attention.

Spider-Man stood up from the bench and and began to discreetly follow their target. Mayday had to admit, it was kinda eerie how easily he blended into the crowds; more than once she'd lost track of him as soon as they rounded a corner or a crowd passed by. The delivery guy was paranoid too, turning to look back every couple of minutes, but he didn't find him either.

"Hey, Spider-Man?"

"What? Something wrong?" She still couldn't see him.

"No, it's just..." She jumped to another building and clung to a nearby wall to hide from view, "Alright, I'll just say it straight out: what's your problem with me?"

"I don't have a-"

"Cut the crap." She flipped to another building and dropped down to the nearby fire escape, "You've been avoiding me ever since I showed up here. Did I do something to tick you off?"

"Is now really the best time for this?"

"Best chance I have right now, I think."

"Stubborn. You're like someone else I know." He sighed, "Listen, it's...it's not that I hate you or anything. Quite frankly I don't know much about you so I can't really say much about you."

"Then what is it?"

"You're a Superhero." She tilted her head and swung up to another rooftop, waiting for him to continue, "I dunno if you've noticed but I'm not as squeaky clean as Gwen and the rest of her Avengers pals. I don't look so good in the daylight, Mayday."

"You seem like a good enough guy. Gwen trusts you."

"Wasn't always like that. We've had our fights..." His voice had turned bitter at the end, "All I'm saying is you probably won't like what you see. Even Gwen doesn't a lot of the time. I'm trying to change, but it's slow going. So just...I don't want to get into any more arguments. I'm done fighting and I'd rather you didn't leave here seeing a version of your dad acting like me."

"Wow, um...dunno what to say to that." Guy was slowing down. They were close, "Look, this isn't the first time I've had to deal with disagreements. Remind me to tell you about Darkdevil sometime. Let's just promise to be cool till we finish this. Deal?"

"Deal."

The timer clicked down to 17 minutes by the time the guy went into an alley, knocked on the door and whispered something she couldn't make out. Mayday crouched the edge of the building and narrowed her eyes as he disappeared down a staircase. Now she just had to-

"Ready?"

"Jeez!" Mayday spun around and glared at Spider-Man, a hand on her chest. He was already wearing his mask, "What the- when did you-"

"Sorry for surprising you." He didn't _sound_ sorry, "We're probably gonna have to go in swinging. Ready for a fight?"

"Sure." She let out a quick breath as she shucked off the jacket to expose her costume underneath. She put on her own mask and swung down to the alley, cause damn it if she was gonna get surprised again. She waited till Spider-Man was next to her when she asked, "So...how we gonna get in there? Find a secret passage? Sneak in through the roof?"

"Thought we'd just knock." And then he went up to the door and banged on it. Mayday stood stick still as the slit opened and a pair of eyes peeked through, "Joe sent me."

The slit slammed shut.

"Always worked in the movies." Before she could marvel at the fact that he actually made a joke he jumped, grabbed the door frame and kicked the door hard enough to make it fall down into the two gunmen behind it. Mayday sprung into action immediately and shot a line of webbing to the next gunman running up the stairs. She tugged him towards her quickly and hit his head with a flip kick, knocking him to the ground unconscious.

"A little warning would've been nice!" Mayday screamed as they rushed down the steps.

"Here's one: jump."

Her spider-sense blared and she jumped up to the stairway's ceiling just before two more gunmen shot up where the two of them were just standing. Mayday looked around frantically and found no trace of Spider-Man anywhere, "You better be alive, Spider-Man!" She dodged the next barrage of gunfire till it suddenly stopped. Looking up (down?) she found the guns yanked away from the goons before they were slammed painfully against the ground.

Spider-Man reappeared in a wisp of smoke, "Come on."

"...That's new."

"Spider-Woman can eat bullets, I can turn invisible. We all have our quirks." Now she felt bad her webshooters were busted. Would've been nice to have some of her gadgets right now.

She and Spider-Man fought their way through the cramped, winding halls. Mayday wasn't much a fan of closed spaces. Agility and speed weren't much useful when the hallways were cramp enough that it was night impossible to jump out of the way of bullets.

Spider-Man was the opposite. He seemed to have no trouble fighting and the _way_ he fought...the Darkdevil comparison became way more appropriate the more she saw. Broken bones, heads smashed against walls hard enough to dislodge teeth...Mayday cringed with every hit and tried not to feel too guilty. At least they were alive and the injuries weren't fatal.

Mayday knocked out the last gunman and webbed him to the wall, "That's all of them." She turned and watched as Spider-Man slammed his fist against his own opponent and left the guy groaning on the floor. He fought differently than her dad. Just as agile and even quicker, but his hits were strong and had little flair or finesse in favor of painful blows that left people wheezing on the floor.

She was used to violence. Much as she didn't like to think about it, she knew that she hurt people. Still, there was something different with how sh and her friends did it. Always with a joke, with a quip, with offers to go easy if they just gave up. Spider-Man and Darkdevil were different. More raw, anger in their blows without any hint of hesitation for the damage that could be left.

Spider-Man walked to the end of the hall and opened the door slowly. The room that greeted them on the other side was wider and filled with numerous tables. Mayday walked to the closest one and whistled, "Look at this thing." She picked up the sleek firearm and twisted it to and fro. Guns weren't her thing, but she could be impressed by the make of something.

"Arms and tech dealers. Usually those are small enough to ignore, but when they get smart they can do a whole lot more damage." He sounded like he spoke from experience, "...What was I...your dad like?"

"Strict. Like, super. When he found out I put on the mask he was livid. Goes on about how I'm too young, how it's _totally_ different when he did it at my age and all that parental crap. If it wasn't for Uncle Urich I probably never would've gotten anywhere." And even that was just cause he misunderstood and thought dad wanted a teacher for her. That and Uncle Urich missed the hero life.

"Urich..."

"You know him?"

"Not exactly." Mayday didn't say anything and just watched him go to another table and pick up a wrapped, brown package. Same one their delivery guy - who ran off while they were fighting the gunmen - got. They didn't bother chasing after him. Spider-Man opened the package and dumped the contents on the table, "Can't tell what this is, but looks like high tech. You recognize it?"

"No, sorry. Dad only taught me to fix up my webshooters." If they could reverse engineer the one Gwen loaned her then she could kiss her web fluid problems goodbye, "Maybe it's to make her own portal?"

"Probably, but it's only been a couple of days. It'd take way more than that to make portals if she was doing it piecemeal like this..." He frowned, "That is unless she told her new friends how to make one. How many heroes you got in your place?"

"Oh trust me, I'm not worried about home. The Avengers'll deal with any dimensional conquerors."

"You got Avengers back in your place too? Here's hoping they got a better foundation than the ones here."

"What do you mean by that?"

He didn't answer. Spider-Man's head snapped to the entrance and he growled softly, "Your 'friends' are coming." She nodded and jumped to the roof while he turned invisible. They needed to take them down quickly. If they escaped again then Mayday couldn't be sure when they'd find them again and she didn't want to test how much longer she could go with her episodes. They were already getting worse.

Ock and Canis strode in like they owned the place. Ock still wore her signature green jumpsuit while Canis had finally gotten a gray, pinstriped suit to replace his ratty clothes. Their stances were guarded and Canis sniffed the air warily, "Why are we here, Carolyn? You saw those men, they've been-"

"Taken down, likely by Spider-Girl. But of course we need that component." Mayday's eyes narrowed, "She's rather persistent like that. In fact, I believe she's watching us right..."

Spider-sense.

"Now."

Mayday jumped away from the wall just in time to avoid the upper right tentacle suddenly lashing out to her position. She almost forgot how deceptively long those things could be, "Nice to see you too, Ock!" She dodged the next hit and webbed Canis in the face mid-charge, "Sorry to drop in like this. Needed to have a bit of a chat, you know how it is."

"Scrambling in fear of your inevitable demise, hm?" Ugh. Seriously, who talked like that?

Canis stood up and ripped the web from his face, teeth bared in an ugly snarl. Mayday prepared to jump over him again when Spider-Man suddenly appeared and punched him in the neck, "Rrgh, you damn-" Canis' no doubt epic comeback was cut off when Spider-Man elbowed him across the face hard enough to break his nose before disappearing again.

"You have help? Of course. You insects all stick together." Ock sneered. Mayday refrained from making the obvious 'arachnids not insects' joke, "Fine then. I don't mind crushing two bugs."

"Could we cut the chatter a bit? Kinda in a rush here." Mayday swung towards the old woman and aimed a kick at her face. Ock blocked her hit with two legs while a third snaked behind her back and grabbed her left arm. Mayday pried it off in a rush and was caught flat-footed when another tentacle slammed her against the wall by her stomach.

"Slipping, hm?"

"Nope, just taking a breather." With a soft groan, Mayday pried the claws apart and zipped up to the roof. The red-clad Spider crawled along the rough surface quickly as Ock tried to strike her. Just barely she saw Spider-Man still fighting with Canis down below. The black-clad spider ran up the wall, flipped and kicked the wolfman straight across the jaw before slamming him against the ground.

"Hold still!"

Mayday dodged the next strike and webbed the tentacle's tip against the roof. Ock immediately tried to stab her with another and Mayday waited till it pierced the concrete before doing the same thing again. Just a little more and-

This time she barely got any warning before the next episode hit. Mayday screamed and fell to the ground as she spasmed through the air, limbs flailing helplessly. She'd barely landed on the cold concrete face first before Ock grabbed her right leg in a painful grip and slammed her against the wall, "What's wrong? Didn't come up with a countermeasure like we did?" Another slam, this time to the back of her head. Mayday tasted blood.

She raised her hands and feebly tried to web Ock in the face. The biocable missed by a few inches and she could only scream as she was slammed against the wall again, one tentacle pressed against her stomach while the two recently freed appendages crushed her wrists. Mayday struggled weakly and looked through bleary eyes as Ock drew closer with a demented smile.

"Hmph, didn't put up as much a fight as I thought." The last remaining tentacle shifted into a blade and drew closer to her, dancing inches away from her eye, "You know how much time you cost me? Well, no matter. Finishing you here is more than worth the time spent." She struggled against the vice grip and looked around desperately for help. Canis, with most of his upper body covered in dark silk, had Spider-Man and was choking him against the ground while the other Spider fumbled for something in his pocket.

And then he pulled out a knife and cut Canis' throat.

Peter threw the knife at her right shoulder. Ock cried out in pain and Mayday gave one last desperate kick and hit the tentacled supervillain square in the gut. Ock stumbled back and Mayday jumped, grabbed the woman's shoulders and hit her with a powerful headbutt. The impact coated her mask with blood but Mayday didn't care. She kicked her four more times then slammed her against the ground hard enough to knock the Supervillain unconscious.

Her new webshooters were busted, but she had enough to coat her in a thick blanket. Mayday panted and tried to ignore the taste of copper on her tongue, "Canis..." She turned her back on the unconscious villain and rushed to Canis' side. The wolfman was lying flat on his back with Spider-Man sitting nearby, trying to catch his breath. The blood was still gushing out.

"Hold on..." Mayday covered the wound with the last of her webbing and pressed hard against it, "Come on, stay with me..." Se wasn't going to let him die, damn it. That wasn't what heroes did.

"Spider-Girl-"

"Help me!" She screamed. Mayday saw the scowl even through his mask but eventually he knelt by her side and put a hand on Canis' throat. A dull yellow light covered the furry skin before the bleeding slowly stopped.

"There, should keep him alive for now." Spider-Man stood and Mayday sat back with a slow breath. The teenager looked down at her hands and tried to ignore the feeling of blood between her fingers.

"...Why did you do that? You had webs, you could have-"

"That psychopath was going to kill you." Spider-Man shot back, "Whatever that bastard had for skin the paralytic in my webbing wasn't working fast enough. It was you or him." He let out a soft sigh and turned back to her, "Judge me later. Least you're still alive for it."

Mayday didn't say anything. She couldn't find the words.

* * *

"Home sweet home..."

Mayday looked up at the two story house in a mixture of relief and trepidation. After capturing Ock and Canis they agreed to go back once their countermeasures - little devices Ock had made - were taken away. Past that it wasn't too difficult. They just had to borrow a portal from Cindy's friends, input the coordinates (apparently her dimension was Earth-982) and she was back where she belonged.

Plus a few tag-alongs.

She looked back to Spider-Man, Gwen and Mary Jane. Lana had volunteered to take Canis and Ock back to prison while Cindy said she'd 'check to see if there was a bunker here too', whatever that meant. That left the remaining three to escort her home, both because they were worried and because, honestly, they were curious on what alternate dimension thems were like.

"What's wrong?" Mary Jane asked next to her. They all decided to forgo costumes, which really only added to the weirdness again of seeing a younger version of her mom wearing a red tanktop and jeans.

"It's been a couple of days. Pretty sure they're gonna yell at me." Either right before or right after hugging her. Depended on their mood. Sighing, the teenage Spider mustered up her nerves and opened the door with her spare key.

The living room was packed. Dad, mom holding Benjy, April and even Darkdevil wearing a suit instead of a costume. Mayday had barely taken one step inside before April's head snapped up and the gamut of emotions from worry to relief to annoyance flashed through her face, "Gee, look who's here." The others looked and all froze, "Have a fun time going MIA, sis?"

"Her dad hobbled towards her and took her in a bonecrushing embrace, "Mayday, you're alright..." Great. Hug first, lecture later. She could deal with that. The hug lasted for a few more seconds before they reluctantly separated, "Where have you been? We've all been searching and-"

"I know, dad. I-" Her mom hugged her too, one hand wrapped gently while the other held onto Benjy. The baby smiled and reached for her, "A-Actually, it's kind of a long story so..." She gestured to her new friends near the door. Darkdevil raised a brow while her mom, dad and April looked so shocked she worried her mom would drop Benjy.

Explaining took almost an hour, though it was less confusing that she thought it'd be in hindsight. Apparently her mom and dad were used to the whole alternate dimensions thing cause of Doctor Strange.

Of course, she didn't miss the way their eyes lingered on Gwen. Alternate dimension counterparts were weird, but seeing a dead best friend/ex-girlfriend and finding out she was a superhero in another dimension was a whole 'nother thing entirely. The blonde awkwardly squirmed in her seat and scooted closer to Spider-Man every now and then.

"So the takeaway from this is that you should've listened to me and waited for help," Dark devil said.

"Yep, that's the lesson here." Mayday rolled her eyes. Of course he'd see it that way.

"So you go fight a couple of D-listers and end up going on a cross-dimension field trip. Why do you get to have all the fun?" April snarked.

"It wasn't exactly fun and games..." Spider-Man said.

"Yeah, yeah. I already get enough shit from Uncle Pete, don't need one from his leather jacket teenage version." April waved a hand through the air lazily, "Speaking of, you're really not dating Aunt MJ? What's up with that?"

"W-We're not here to discuss our lovelives." Gwen said, "We just came here to make sure Mayday got back home safe. We figured it was our responsibility." Mom and dad still kept looking at her, "Uh...what's up? Something on my face?"

"N-No, it's just..." Her mom took a deep breath, "We're sorry. I know you're not her, but you were about the same age when our Gwen..."

"Y-Yeah, Mayday told me." Gwen frowned, "Sorry for making this awkward. Trust me, I know what that feels like." She looked to Peter and held his hand, "We just wanted to make sure Mayday was okay. We'll get out of your hair."

"No, it's alright. In fact why don't you stay over for lunch? It's the least we could do for all you've done."

They all (reluctantly) agreed. Mayday tried to ignore the awkwardness that hung in the air and looked around the table. Her mom and dad had finally gotten used to Gwen's presence, but now Mary Jane was the one staring. It was like looking at night and day between the two. Same shade of red hair and the same face sans a few wrinkles, but her mom was the opposite of the rocker singer she'd gotten to know the past few days.

"So you're a singer in a band?" her mom asked Mary Jane. She was doing remarkably well not being weirded out seeing an almost-teenage version of herself.

"Uh...yeah. We don't go on many concerts now. Work keeps me busy, you know?"

"Truth be told we didn't go on a lot of concerts even before that," Gwen said, "I kept missing practice cause of the whole Spider-Woman thing and when Peter came back it as all a giant clusterfuck. And then MJ got...powers." From the Carnage symbiote. Mayday still felt sick thinking about it.

"Oh? You're a hero?" Her mom asked.

"Ah...kinda? I'm...I call myself Scarlet Spider." Her dad paused mid-bite briefly, "I'm not really used to the whole superhero thing. Hell, I'm not even part of the Initiative."

"That still sounds fucking weird to me. People actually sign up to be government toadies?" April asked.

"April..." Mayday sighed.

"You remind me of someone I know," Spider-Man said.

Lunch finished soon after and Mayday said her goodbyes. She could go back if she wanted - apparently their world was Earth-65 - but she couldn't help but feel sad. She'd miss Gwen and Mary Jane, and Spider-Man...well, his heart was in the right place. She smiled till they were out of sight then made her way up to her room and collapsed on the bed.

Peter pulled out his mask as soon as they were far enough, "That was weird..." They were meeting up with Cindy and Lana close where they first showed up. He put on the mask while Gwen and Mary shifted back to their costumes.

"Tell me about it," Gwen said.

"Least I know I'm hot enough to pull off a tracksuit," Mary joked.

They climbed up to the rooftop rendezvous and found Lana and Cindy already waiting for them, "Took ya long enough," Lana said.

"Sorry. Any luck with your bunker search, Cin?" Peter asked.

"Kinda. Found the place but it was empty, so I'm guessing Earth-982 Me decided to take her chances out in the big bad world here. Let's just hope she didn't become a Supervillain cause that's Mayday's problem." He was with her there.

"You got the way back?" Mary asked.

"Sure. Come on, let's bunch up. Tether's only got one shot."

The way back was just as disorienting as before. Peter took a deep breath and shut his eyes as the feeling of weightlessness washed over him. When he opened his eyes again he was more than a little put off when he saw that they were in Times Square with people staring at them instead of the expected Shield facility. Whatever, he was just glad to be back home-

"Uh, guys, I think we have a problem." Cindy raised the device, which was sparking in a not-so-soothing way, "I think we might've used it too quick. We're...not in the right place?"

"What? Then were the fuck are we?" Lana groaned.

As if on cue a red and blue figure swung down close to where they were. Peter immediately took a step back and leveled his gun at the new arrival, "Woah, hold on! I'm a friend!" His voice was cheery...and all too familiar.

It was his voice, after all.

"Saw you guys just drop in here and figured I should welcome you to the neighborhood." His costume looked close to the one Mayday wore. Peter suddenly had a bad feeling about the entire thing.

"Uh...who the heck are you?" Gwen asked.

"Me? People call me a lotta names, some of em not so nice, but you can call me your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Nice to meet you."

Peter turned his gaze back to the machine's screen and saw the number 616, and _not _65, across the surface. Sometimes he hated his life.

* * *

**Parker/Stacy/Moon/Baumgartner/Watson luck strikes again. I was debating on whether they would end up on Earth-616 or Earth-8 (world where Miles and Gwen got married and made a utopia New York) by the end but decided on the former cause it seemed more recognizable.**

**Before anyone worries, I'm not planning to make this a thing. The ending was just a joke and we'll be back on plot by the next chapter. I'm sure some people would want a 616 omake so maybe I'll make one, but it's doubtful since I don't have a good grasp on the characters there. **

**Questions:**

**1\. Some people expressed interest on Noir having both tech upgrades and the Spider Trigger. Would you guys really like that? Seems a bit too powerful considering Noir's enemy scale and him lacking some of Gwen's deficiencies to compensate as weaknesses. **

**2\. Who'd you guys prefer to take the lead when fighting Bullseye: Peter or Matt? The former has drama about past friendships while the latter focuses on irony and how twisted their rivalry is due to their last fight. Leaning towards Matt so far but curious on thoughts.**

**3\. More of a curiosity, but does no one mind the age gap between Matt and MJ? Mary Jane is 21 while Matt is 34, a 13 year age difference. Considering how people got testy over pairing Noir with Lana or Cindy I'm surprised this hasn't come up.**

**Review Answers:**

**SpiderGod76 - Cindy already does have a lot of screen time, right? As for MJ, her inhibitions are lowered by Carnage immensely. She wouldn't be a serial killer otherwise.**

**Spidergwen - She _is_ desperate. Living with a killer blob of spaghetti in your head will make anyone unstable.**

**Makhan - To be fair we don't know what Matt is like as a boyfriend. He could be really nice.**

**Tomkatan - Taking over? Noir still has the most POV's, I think.**

**Raw Prodigy - Peter wouldn't be the one who'd get in trouble, though. Gwen knows he's not a cheater.**

**TCarson117 - He's seen Gwen wearing skintight lycra. Lingerie is nothing to him.**


	23. Back to Business

**Hey. Sorry this took a while it's been getting busier for me and finding the motivation to write has become a bit harder. Maybe the next chapter will come easier, maybe not. Licensure exam reviews, thesis proposals and gaining requirements for everything are a bitch. **

**Speaking of those those who are reading _Two Spiders on a Web_. No I didn't abandon it but please be patient. Unlike_ Looking Glass _I never expected it to run so long so I need to plan out the plot more. That and I'm not as good at writing lighthearted stuff so it's definitely not gonna be fast. **

**Anyway, I'll postpone the MJ romance vote for now and replace it with one asking on who should take the lead between Matt and Noir for fighting Bullseye. I'm still leaning towards the former but regardless I wanna hear what you guys think.**

* * *

**BoneDaddy: **Alright poll time! **Avengers** or **Defenders**, who do you prefer?! Go!

**Reply from Ps1000:** Is this really fair? The Defenders broke up a year ago and the new one only has two returning members.

**Reply from BoneDaddy:** Why not? They still made an impact. I'm a Defenders man myself. Their costumes are BOSS.

**Reply from TheEnvironmentalistAgenda:** Avengers most def. I prefer heroes who save people vs just killing bad guys.

**Reply from 25000: **I dunno, I think there's something appealing about the Defenders doing what they do even after they got branded as fugitives. It's like** Spider-Woman** being a hero before she got proven innocent.

**Reply from BoneDaddy:** Plus they feel more relatable. I mean every one of the Avengers have product deals and probably live in penthouses.

**Reply from Ps1000:** No offense but you gotta be really fucked up if you think **Punisher **is more relatable than anyone in the Avengers. Also, the penthouse thing is clearly not true. **Hawkeye** works as a PI and owns an apartment over in Hell's Kitchen on her non-hero time.

**Reply from BoneDaddy:** Hawkeye's the exception, not the rule. All I'm saying is I can see the appeal of the Defenders more.

**Reply from EPFrog:** I dunno, I think the **Protectors** were good even if their run was short...

**Reply from StrikerNotBombshell:** Self-promotion's never flattering, frog boy.

**Reply from HahaHoho:** Avengers most definitely. I mean, have you _seen_ how tight their costumes are? Definitely got some NSFW pictures :P

**Reply from Spinerette: **Didn't Spider-Woman ban you? How are you back?

* * *

"Listen, Pete, I gotta go. Good luck with the house arrest."

"Wait, Cin, don't-"

Cindy ended the call before Peter could make his impassioned plea and sighed. It wasn't like she didn't get why he was antsy, but she was kinda busy with her own thing too. Case in point: the absolute boatload of cases (heh) piled on her desk, "Ugh..." She started stacking them into three piles: Deal with ASAP, double check later, and toss in trash when Captain Watanabe wasn't looking.

It was depressing just how big the latter pile was compared to the first two.

The time on her watch said it was close to evening. Cindy sighed and reminded herself that she was doing this for the greater good and that it was better than dodging tank fire or swinging across alien ships.

Oh, who was she kidding? She'd take another Skrull invasion over this.

Another soft beep from her phone notified her that she got another right swipe. Cindy sighed again and idly looked through her list of 'admirers'. Ever since she outed her identity getting a date was far easier - being a member of the Avengers and, not to too her own horn or anything, hot to boot really gave you a leg up once people realized you were single and looking for dates.

Unfortunately it was definitely quantity over quality. Before got a bunch of hits and it'd only take her a few minutes - half an hour at most - to sift through anyone she thought would be a decent date. Now she had spend over an hour swiping left because 90% of the people who swiped her weren't even close to having any similar interests; just people who wanted to say they dated Spinerette.

There were also a bunch of women too despite her profile quite clearly saying she was straight.

Cindy ignored the pop-up message and logged out. That was another thing she had to deal with now: persistent messages. Before when she unmatched from people they just shrugged and moved on; other fish in the sea and all that. Now there was a 50/50 shot she'd got bombarded with texts saying that they should 'give them a chance' or that 'they weren't a hero but they still wanted to give it a shot'. One guy even tried the true and tested 'be a sexist douche' approach, cause apparently threatening the woman with super strength was a good idea.

The door to her office opened and she gave a forced smile when Jean walked in, "What's up? I'm kinda busy here." Cindy gestured to the pile. No more missing persons cases so far, but there'd been some rumblings about another Lantern gang. She tried to keep it on the downlow when she was around Pete. He'd be useful without a doubt, but the last thing she needed was Spider-Man going on a rampage.

Or Gwen going apeshit that her boyfriend was involved with pumpkinhead. Again.

"You have a visitor."

"If it's Feli then tell her she still owes me and I'm not paying for car repairs, and if it's another guy who thinks going to my work with flowers to 'surprise me' tell him I'm not interested and to unmatch." Wouldn't have been the first time. At first it was flattering, but now even Masters felt sorry for her. _Masters_. That was just depressing on a whole 'nother level.

"It's not a guy-"

"Please tell any prospecting Flint matchups that I'm straight and not interested in women."

"Would you let me finish?" Jean said, annoyed, "As I was saying, a little girl's outside looking for you."

"Little girl..." She only knew one little girl who'd visit her here. Cindy dropped her pen and rushed past Jean only to find, sure enough, Laura standing proud as a peacock near the entrance. The little girl rocked on the balls of her feet and played with the straps of her backpack, completely ignoring the officers and other milling people around her. Most of them only spared her a quick glance before returning to what they were doing.

"Laura!" Cindy grabbed her hand and dragged her to her office before she could say anything. Jean was still there, arms crossed and a brow raised. Cindy completely ignored her and shut the door, "What the hell are you doing here?" she hissed.

Laura rummaged through her backpack and pulled out a small stack of papers, "My grades got better."

Brows furrowed, Cindy took the offered papers and scanned through it quickly. Math, Science, English...all her subjects with C pluses and B minuses. It was above average at best, but still an improvement from before, "Um...okay? I'm proud of you, kiddo?" Cindy ruffled her hair. It wasn't a lie, but she was still pretty damn confused why she came here just to say that.

Laura nodded and looked up at her expectantly. The silence lasted for a few more seconds till she eventually said, "I want my dog now."

"What? _Now_? It's late." Half an hour past six in the evening, according to her watch, "And how did you even get here?"

"Shadowcat drove. She's outside." And she didn't bother to come inside with them. No surprise there: Kitty didn't have the best relationship with the cops considering her line of work. Jean gave her a look of 'what kind of friends do you have' and Cindy just shrugged. It was an opens secret that despite being Spider-Cop not all of her friends were on the straight and narrow.

"Still..." Cindy sighed. She knew from experience that Laura wouldn't let it go, but she didn't exactly have time to blow off work.

"Shadowcat said she also had to talk to you. Something about a fuzzy friend?"

Well...that changed things, "I gotta go," she said to Jean. The older woman opened her mouth to protest and she cut her off, "It's about a case, trust me. Tell Captain Watanabe I'll be back with a couple of leads tomorrow."

Laura tugged on her hand and dragged her out of the building. A few of her coworkers smiled and even took pictures, which she just knew were going up on tweeter later. Cindy didn't get a chance to stop and tell them off, "Come on, come on!" Laura shouted excitedly.

Shadowcat looked up from the window of the van (seriously?) and wiggled her fingers, a cocky smile on her face, "...Nice car," Cindy said flatly.

"Ah shut up. We're getting her dogs and I ain't gonna have have little furballs shitting all over my convertible."

"Wait, dog_s_ plural? Last I checked I said one dog." Cindy gave Laura a pointed look.

"I got better grades on all my subjects." Laura said, smug in the way only a little kid could be, "You agreed to give me a puppy if I improved Math. Since I improved more I get more than one puppy."

"Well, that logic is foolproof," Cindy snarked.

"Don't whine, I'll pay for the other one," Shadowcat said, "Now come on, let's go look for a pet store around here."

"I actually know a place. Lana told me about it." Cindy took her seat on the other side of the vehicle and shut the door, "Come on, I'll point it out."

The place they arrived at ended up being a shelter. Shadowcat gave her a doubtful look while Cindy just shrugged and walked inside. According to Lana she had an old friend friend who worked here, a teenage girl by the name of Sophia 'Chat' Sanduval, who was really good with animals. On the bright side they'd even get a discount and some free kibble

Besides, she figured Laura'd prefer rescue animals to something from a regular pet store.

"Welcome to the Animal Estates!" The teenage girl at the front desk greeted cheerfully. She was young, easily a decade Cindy's junior, with a nametag that had 'Chat' written in big, red letters.

"Hey. Um...are you Lana's friend?"

The teenager blinked then smiled, "Oh, you must be Ms. Cindy! Yes, Lana told me about you. I didn't expect you to come today, though."

"Yeah, well, this little munchkin insisted." She ruffled Laura's hair again while the girl in question puffed up her cheeks in annoyance. Height jokes were the easiest way to set her off, "Anyway, we were hoping we could get a couple of dogs?"

"Sure! All of the dogs are out in the playroom by now. Do you want to-"

"I want to meet them all," Laura said, practically bouncing in excitement.

"Go ahead. Me and Kitty'll stay here, we've got some business to talk about. Just make sure you don't get a pug!" Norah's doggo wouldn't like the competition. Cindy waved them off and watched briefly as Laura dutifully followed the teenager to the other room. She smiled. It was nice, seeing Laura so happy. Almost made her forget about the claws and the growling and body count.

Shadowcat waited till they were alone, "Just the two of us now." The younger girl's grin was way too gleeful. It was the same one she used whenever she knew there was gonna be a bodycount, which was never a good sign.

"Seems so." Cindy crossed her arms, "Where's Kurt?"

"Scouting a place out." She pulled out her phone and Cindy's own cell buzzed, "Sent you a map. Fuzzball thinks he can find a lead on those friends of his." That was the reason he came to her all those days ago. He and his friends came here to New York for a fresh start - easy thought considering it was Superhero (and villain) central. If a guy with blue fuzz and a tail could start off new anywhere it would've been New York.

Or at least that was the thought. They barely lasted a month before two of them got picked off without a trace. It didn't take a genius to figure out that it was probably the same person who was kidnapping every other Powered person around.

"Now? He said he'd keep a low profile till I found something."

"You know his type. Gets a whiff that his friends are in trouble and he comes in running." Despite the insulting tone there was a small smile on the Mercenary's face, "Anyway, we'll get munchkin her new toys then drop her off."

"You really wanna leave her alone with two new pets?"

"Don't worry, she won't be alone-"

Cindy didn't get a chance to ask what that meant before the door behind them opened. The increasingly exasperated hero turned around and froze when she saw Albert with his parents right behind him, "Come on, boy." He tugged the leash at his side to pull along the mid-sized golden retriever.

The three of them stopped when they caught sight of her. Cindy tried to say something but Albert talked first, "Hey Cin...didn't expect to see you here. Getting a pet?"

"We-"

"Oh, who's this, Cin?" Shadowcat suddenly grabbed her right arm with both hands and pressed it against her chest. The older woman glared down at the teenager and she just stared up with that look on her fac. The 'I'm gonna fuck your life so hard and laugh about it' look, "Oh, this is is your family, right? So nice to finally meet them! You told them about us, right?"

"Us? Wait..." Nari looked between the two of them and gasped softly, "Are you two-"

"Whatever you're thinking, it's not-"

"Of course." Shadowcat's grin was almost manic now. She looked like the freaking Joker, "We were getting a pet for our kid. A little reward considering she did so well in school."

"That's not-"

"Oh, we didn't know you were dating." Why did Sr. have that 'I hope you're happy smile'? He shouldn't have that smile! "Well, don't let us get in your way. You two kids have fun."

"Will do, pops!" Shadowcat winked.

"Alright, that's enough!" Cindy wrenched her arms from the teen's hand, "We're just here to-"

The door to the back slammed open and Laura charged out, "Mom, I have them!" The little girl held up a furry - seriously, little thing looked like a sentient dustball - pomerenian pup while a pure white Japanese Spitz trotted alongside her happily. It didn't take Cindy long to see that the pomerenian's right back leg was broken, "I want these two. We can have them, right?"

"I-"

"Of course, munchkin. Mama Cindy'll give you anything you want, right?" Shadowcat threw her an all too smug smile. Cindy seriously wanted to pull out her gun and shoot her in the face, "Come on, let's go buy you your new friends."

Shadowcat went with Laura to the counter, leaving her with her (not) family in awkward silence. Cindy pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, "I'm not actually with her, if you haven't caught on," she said.

"And the kid?" Albert asked.

"Long story. The two of them are sisters - kinda - and I've been looking after Laura while Kitty's out of town on work. She started calling me mom."

"I...think you skipped a few steps there," Sr. said, "Well, it's your business. Just know that we won't judge you-"

"I'm not sleeping with her!" Cindy snapped, causing the cashier to jump up slightly. She took long, deep breath, "I'm sorry, but I'm just getting tired of people thinking I swing both ways just cause Spider-Woman does. Me and Kitty are friends, sorta, and she was just fucking with you. She does that all the time; it's how she gets her jollies."

"That little girl seems familiar," Nari said.

"Best not think about it too much." Shadowcat didn't have an actual secret identity and there were videos of her and Laura caught during their fight with her evil twin. The only reason they didn't draw too much attention was cause Kitty didn't really _do_ the superhero thing (though she did do the occasional vigilante outing during jobs) and Laura promised she'd keep a low profile in school.

She said her goodbyes to her (not) family and went back to Shadowcat's van. Laura took up the backseat with her two new pets. Cindy looked up to the rear view mirror and smiled when she caught the little girl petting the crippled pomerenian while the spritz nuzzled her side. She never had pets when she was younger and Ezekiel's suggestion to bring one with her to the bunker was vetoed. She didn't want to put anyone else through what she did.

They stopped at the house and Laura's head immediately snapped up, "...He's here." Her eyes were wide and, without any warning, she practically crashed through the van's right door and rushed to the house, the spritz chasing after her.

"...What the heck was that about?"

"My surprise for her."

Cindy opened the door and found Laura yelling happily as she hugged a (barely keeping himself balanced) Spider-Man. Despite the mountain of size difference between them the tank-like Spider found himself unable to move as Laura pressed her face against his chest and and her arms tightly bolted around his sides. It was both cute and kinda vomit-inducing.

The spritz, seeing its new owner was preoccupied, immediately jumped to the other two children on the couch, "Doggie!" The little boy shouted happily with his sister quickly joining in. She knew them, kinda. Spider-Man's kids with his world's Black Cat. She didn't actually see them since since she didn't come along, but Pete and Gwen told her enough details for her to guess.

Shadowcat walked next to her with a small smile, "Figured I owed her a reward for being a good little munchkin. And cause I haven't been around much."

"And I'm sure you getting your boyfriend back for a bit doesn't hurt." Shadowcat smirked back at her, "Isn't he supposed to be dealing with World War II?"

"He is. Already killed Hitler and a few other big names and dismantled a bunch of concentration camps so he's just waiting for a bit for someone or something else to hit. Apparently he's working with his world's Captain America now." Yeah, she figured that'd happen, "Apparently he's trying to get intel about some Johan Schmidt asshole."

"Red Skull?"

"I guess."

Shaking her head, Cindy walked inside and found herself sharing Laura's infectious smile, "Looks like today's your lucky day, kiddo." She ruffled her hair and turned to Spider-Man, "Look out for her for a bit, yeah? Me and Shadowcat gotta do something."

"Sure. Take care of her, alright?" He looked to Shadowcat.

"Yeah, I think she'll be fine. I'm more worried about anyone else we'll run into," Cindy said.

"Sure...hey, how's Parker doing?"

"Laying low. Gwen wants him out of sight and out of mind after he got put into a fucked up Saw game." That got her a questioning look, "Long story. Point is he's keeping a low profile, so if you wanna do the awkward brotherly hang out thing you gotta go visit Gwen's house. She's keeping him under house arrest.

"Ha, whipped." Shadowcat snorted behind her.

"_Any_way, we'll get out of your hair. Have fun you two."

She kissed the top of Laura's head and joined Shadowcat in her car. She sent a quick text to Lana (Felicia was doing something, apparently) and started fiddling with her guns, "Never get why you use those," Shadowcat said lightly, "I mean you're strong like Spider-Girly and you can cling to walls and dodge bullets. What's the point of using guns?"

Cindy shrugged. Why didn't Gwen just web everyone down instead of using those fancy punches and kicks? Why didn't Peter turn invisible all the time and just avoid fighting altogether? They probably didn't think about it and neither did she. S.H.I.E.L.D trained her like she was an agent and that included guns. Besides, she had I.C.E.R rounds and she could just as easily kill with her fists as well as bullets.

Lana was already there by the time they arrived, "Yo." She waved casually and stepped off the wall, ignoring the occasional people who tried to take pictures. She was still dressed in her school uniform, though she'd wisely decided to switch out her loafers for a pair of worn sneakers.

"What's with the getup?" Cindy asked.

"Costume's in the wash and you didn't really give me a lot of warning." She eyed Shadowcat, "I saw you back in Maggie's church. Darkcat, right?"

"_Shadow_cat. Darkcat makes me sound like a fucking cartoon villain." Cindy refrained from commenting that Shadowcat wasn't much better, "We should probably get this out of the way first: I kill people and I don't spend days whining about it afterwards. If that's not cool with you then tough."

"Not gonna hear me complaining. If these assholes are anything like the ones who took Aracely they have it fucking coming." Was it hypocritical for her to be worried about how easy Lana took to killing? "Speaking of, we doing this or what?"

"Yeah. Shouldn't be too far now." The map said it was just a few blocks away. Cindy grabbed Shadowcat for a swing-along while Lana rushed forward in a burst of light after her. Her new powers definitely made Cindy feel far less awkward about bringing her along for team-ups. Now she didn't have to worry that every gunshot could end with the younger girl taking a bullet to the face and then having to explain to Peter that his little sister was dead.

The building was mid-sized and nondescript. Cindy landed on the roof with Lana running up the walls immediately after, "Least it ain't another fucking warehouse." The teenager muttered. Cindy silently agreed - seriously, couldn't the bad guys be at least a little more creative? - and made her way to the rooftop vent. According to Kurt's pictures this was the place.

The vent had opened by just an inch when her spin-sense screamed, "MOVE-" The words were just barely out of her mouth when the explosion hit. Cindy shut her eyes and was flung to the closest wall, heat and flames all around her. The impact across her back knocked the wind out of her and she could only thank whatever luck she had left that she didn't get any shrapnel through the face.

She blacked out for just a few seconds. When Cindy opened her eyes again she saw Shadowcat;s unconscious body lying a few feet away with Lana nowhere in sight, "Damn it..." It was a trap; of course it was. Sucking in a pained hiss, Cindy grabbed the wall and pulled herself up. Everybody in a five mile radius must've heard that explosion.

Her spin-sense rang again and she flipped back to avoid the next bomb that landed where she just was, "Nice reflexes!" She looked up and grimaced at the figure above her. He was large, a fact helped by the extremely bulky armor and the frayed cloak he wore. It was an orange and black ensemble that reminded her of the heavy S.H.I.E.L.D units who fought against H.Y.D.R.A.

"What, nothing to say? No banter?" The mask that covered his face was shaped like a gray goblin or gargoyle of some kind with the mouth curled up in a demented grin. Even that looked almost normal compared to what he was riding: a sleek silver glider that looked way too similar to the one Gobby used a year ago. The bombs too now that she thought of it.

"And who are you supposed to be?" She looked past him to Shadowcat. Still unconscious.

"Oh I've got a lot of names, but you can call me...Goblin Knight."

She almost laughed, she really did, but then he pulled out a _flaming sword_ and nearly sliced her head off. Cindy dodged the blow and slipped past him to Shadocat's prone body, "Kitty, a little help here!" She grabbed the unconscious mercenary and jumped off the roof. Still no sign of Lana, which she took as a good thing. It meant she could've been just fine somewhere else.

Cindy swung away to a less crowded area. If those bombs were anything like Gobby's then the last thing she needed was innocents getting caught in the crossfire, "Hey, where ya going?! We're just getting started!" Cindy dodged another bomb and cringed when it blew up a nearby water tower, showering the streets below. Yep, those things definitely packed a punch.

It only took her a minute to find a good spot: a mostly empty parking lot with only two cars taking up the corner spot. Cindy dropped Shadowcat off at a nearby building and turned around to meet, ugh, _Goblin Knight_, "Done running?" She could practically see the sneer under that ugly mask of his. First thing she'd do after this was tear that mask apart.

Her hands went for her pistols and she grimaced when she saw the mangled frames. Her guns were made of sterner stuff than the average weapon but a point blank explosion would mess anything up,_ 'Guess I gotta do this mano-e-mano...' _She lowered herself into a fighting position and scanned the area for anything she could use. Like Natasha said: the one who plans is the one who wins.

Goblin face threw a bomb straight at her. Cindy webbed and threw it back at him before taking to the air again. He batted the bomb down to the ground and blew up both of the parked cars, "Gonna have to do better than that!" He charged towards her sword drawn and she swung past him to avoid the swipe. It was clear from the way he struck that he wasn't actually trained. Just a guy swinging a big stick around.

Cindy landed on the closest roof and shot two lines of webbing to his back and tried to pull him off the glider. He didn't budge at all,_ 'Either's got stick em powers too or those boots are magnetized.' _She let go of the webs before he could drag her along and and jumped to the ground. Needed to avoid sticking to walls; she couldn't be sure there weren't people on the other side.

"So what did you think was gonna happen, huh?" Cindy ignored the question and swung up to kick him. The glider lowered suddenly and she found herself hitting air, "Think you could just come in and we wouldn't do anything about it? Did you think we were that stupid!"

He tried to slash at her again. She shot two lines of webbing to a nearby lamppost and pulled herself towards it. Cindy let go of the webs, grabbed the pole and used it to swing herself around back to where he was flying. Goblin face didn't get a chance to dodge again before she kicked him straight to the wall.

"Ow, you son of a-" She webbed a nearby manhole cover and chucked it straight to his neck. She hit his chest, but she considered it good enough, "Hey, you nearly took my head off! I'm supposed to be doing that!" Ugh, great, just what she needed: another psycho who thought making jokes was cool.

She jumped again and webbed his sword to pull it towards her. If she wanted to fight the guy head on then she'd rather do it without a flaming sword of death. She was only half-surprised when his grip on it refused to budge. Super strength or a powered suit; either way wasn't good for her, _'Damn it...'_ She tugged him towards her and she ducked the sweeping slash.

Her counterattack was met with him flying off again, "That glider's really pissing me off." Cindy sorely wished that she had her guns again. Webs weren't doing here much good here.

She prepared to take to take to the air again when he chucked an entire belt of bombs at her. Eyes widening, she pulled herself away to the opposite end of the parking lot. The bombs exploded behind her and, while, she managed to avoid the brunt of the blast, the force of the explosion still sent her impacting against the building wall.

_'_Really _getting tired of this.' _

Cindy coughed and glared up at him as he flew down. She was so busy glaring that she almost missed the blur of yellow light surging up to her left, "What, got nothing to-" Lana materialized and dropkicked him straight through the wall to their right.

"...Took you long enough." She accepted the teenage hero's offered hand.

"Dude, there was another villain back there! You're lucky I got here as fast as I did after you ditched me." She scoffed, "Speaking of, where the fuck is Shadowcat?"

"Here." The mercenary 'floated' down to the ground, one hand rubbing her head and a murderous look on her face, "Just point me to who I gotta shishkebab."

Goblin face burst out of the rubble and shot up into the air again, "Three on one, huh? Not liking my chances here. Whadda say we even the odds?" He tapped his gauntlet and a whirring sound blared all around them. At least a dozen more goblins, each of them riding a glider, surrounded him. Cindy narrowed her eyes. If what she knew from Gobby was right then those were drones.

"Those are drones," Shadowcat said.

"No shit." Lana rolled her eyes, "Come on, let's do this."

They came all at once. Cindy dodged the first barrage and focused on one that was slightly farther from the rest. Lana blew up at least three in one go while Cindy webbed and threw hers towards Shadowcat, "Heads up!" Shadowcat cleaved the bot in two and Cindy punched the next one coming towards her. Its head flew clean off and she punched it in the chest again to make sure. Surprisingly punching robot heads off didn't always end them. Who knew?

She'd taken out her third bot when Goblin face finally joined with another dozen bots in tow, "Shoulda left it alone!" He slashed down overhead. Cindy dodged to the side and retaliated with a kick. It hurt them both, "Wooh, you pack a hit! Good thing I got this fancy suit!" The next slash grazed her side. Cindy stepped back and hissed as blood ran down her side. That'd hurt in the morning.

Shadowcut cat through another drone and gave her a handsignal. She knew what it meant,_ 'Damn it, Kitty...' _This was gonna hurt. She covered her hands in a thick sheet of webbing and waited for him to strike.

He charged towards her cackling and swinging. Any attempts to web the sword were met with the silk immediately burning, "Gonna have to do better than that!" he jeered. Cindy got as close as she could to try and grab his wrists but came up short. So she grabbed the next best thing, "Oh man, you are crazy!" She grit her teeth to keep from screaming. He still hadn't let go, too busy laughing at how stupid she was being.

So he didn't see Shadowcut come in and cut his hands off till it was too late.

Cindy quickly let go of the flaming sword while Goblin face looked at the stumps where his hands used to be. Lana finished off the last drone and hit him with an explosive blast that smashed him against the wreckage of the still-burning cars, "Knew it'd work." Shadowcat grinned. Cindy just glared at her and peeled off the web that had melted into her skin. She was gonna pay her back for that later.

"Haha...haha..." Goblin face just looked down at his bloody stumps and kept laughing. Lana gave her a wary look, "Hahahaha...hahahaha...hahahahahHAHAHAHAHA!"

Her spin-sense blared way too late. Cindy fell on her knees and screamed, both hands pressed against her ears to try and block out the sound. It felt like someone was scratching a knife against her brain. Next to her Shadowcat and Lana fell too, the former looking like she was going to gouge her own ears out if it meant blocking out the sound.

She didn't know how long they stayed there helpless, but by the time she realized the sound was gone so was Goblin face. Cindy slowly lowered her hands and grimaced at the blood on her palms and the drops that fell down her ear, "What...the fuck...was that?" Lana muttered next to her. Cindy didn't answer her, "I...ugh, feels like someone cracked my skull open and pureed everything inside..."

"That's a nice picture." Shadowcat scoffed, "Considerin' Fuzzball ain't here I'm guessin' he led us to a trap or that asshole got him."

"Either way we need to look for him. Come on, let's get out of here..."

* * *

**SlayerOfThicness:** **-embedded video- ****GPool** just posted a vid of a **Spinerette**, **Striker **and **Claw Lady **team up. The end gets cut off but apparently it's for our own safety.

**Reply from Saviorofman**: Man, **Spinerette's** really pushing the limits to that whole Spider-Cop thing. First she's friends with **Spider-Man** now she's teaming up with unlicensed Gifted. How is she not in trouble for this?

**Reply from** **1stEditionorNothingNerds**: Pretty sure some Supers have a 'do not touch' rule even if they aren't licensed. I mean you don't see people mobilizing to capture **Moon Knight** or that **Daredevil** guy, right? Government's got more to worry about than some vigilantes. 'Sides, no one's gonna cry over some rapists getting maimed.

**Reply from SlayerOfThicness** \- Don't think **Claw Lady** is a vigilante. Least I've never seen her doing hero work before.

**Reply from** **1stEditionorNothingNerds: **She was there along with **Claw Girl** when they fought evil Cindy Moon, so she has that going for her.

**Reply from Beachgal:** Off-topic, but anyone else think it's weird Striker's doing hero work in her school uniform?

**Reply from HahaHoho:** Don't see me complaining. She makes it _work_.

**Reply from** **1stEditionorNothingNerds: **Dude she's underage. And didn't you say you're 35 in another post?

**Reply from HahaHoho: **She's 17, so that's New York legal ;D

**Reply from StrikerNotBombshell:** How the fuck do you keep getting unbanned...?

* * *

This was hell.

Peter groaned and looked up at the ceiling. He read through a book Helen lent him and was very pointedly not thinking about what happened with Mary just a scant few hours ago. Sure, she'd kissed him back then, but that was just desperation; a need for comfort after the things that monster made her do. She didn't like him, and he was pretty sure he'd know if she did.

So what in the hell was that...?

Groaning again, he set the book down at his side and closed his eyes. At his side Norah looked up from her laptop with a wry smile before continuing her work. She was the one on babysitting duty now, her and Helen. Captain Stacy and Jones were out on a case (date) while Ben and May were with Helena, so that left just the two of them to watch over the grounded (cause that's what it was) Spider.

He groaned again and Helen set down on her own book, "What's wrong, Peter? Need something? Hungry?"

"No..." He sat up and rubbed his eyes, "I'm just going insane staying here. I didn't come back to New York just to be confined."

"Yeah, but we know you are cause you're whipped," Norah said, not looking up from her article. Peter glared at her, "Not that I blame you. I wouldn't wanna piss off someone who has tentacles either."

"Please don't use my daughter and tentacles in the same sentence. Thank you," Helen said.

"Oh yeah, you're her mom. Still kinda weird," Norah replied nonchalantly, "Anyway, how much longer we gotta stay here? I kinda have an article to write and I left poor Gabe to hold down the fort. I don't pay that kid nearly enough for that."

"I don't think _you're_ getting paid enough considering what you do," Peter said.

"Action is my reward, Benjy." The blonde smiled cheekily. Peter rolled his eyes. God, he hated that theme song. And Gwen wondered why he didn't watch her show, "But yeah, you got a point. Still I can't exactly get paid more. Technically breaking and entering is still a crime and I only get away with it cause Bossman Urich's nephew's got a crush on me. And because I'm a badass, but hey."

"Good to know you stayed humble while I was gone." She spun around on the swivel chair with a teasing smile and he saw something on the screen that drew his attention: an old picture of Jack from a year ago, "...Hey, Helen, I'm actually kinda hungry. Could I ask you to..."

"Huh? Oh, sure. You too, Norah?"

"Yes please!"

He waited till her footsteps faded before he faded and walked towards Norah. She pressed the laptop to her chest but he easily grabbed it from her hands, "Hey!" She tried to take it back and he just put a hand on her face to keep her at bay. It was child's play even if she was an inch taller than him (a fact that she loved teasing him over), "This is theft of property and I will not stand for it! I _will_ taze you!"

"Keep your shirt on, Summers." He scanned through the written article quickly, "New Lantern gang? Why the hell were you hiding this from me?"

She took the laptop back and hugged it to her chest protectively, "If you _must_ know, Cindy wanted it kept on the down low. Didn't want you going off on a rampage or Gwen to get even more protective."

"I wouldn't have gone on a...rampage."

"Uh, bullshit? You look like you want to right now!" She rolled her eyes at his rebuke, "Whatever. I figured I was safe since you never pick up a newspaper and you never check the Front Line blogs. Even though I totally sent you that recommendation link."

"You know shameless self-promotion isn't an attractive trait, right?"

"Says the guy running around with his own logo'd jacket." She stuck her tongue out. Childish, "Anyway, I actually gotta go soon. Picked up a lead on the gang and I'd rather not wait till it gets cold. You understand, right?"

"Yeah. Where is it?"

"That's strictly nunya." Ugh, she knew he still didn't get all the lingo here, "I don't wanna be the one getting a tentacle up my ass from little miss Spider-Gwen, so how about I just go and you pretend we didn't have this conversation."

"You really think that's a good idea? You know what the Lanterns are like." He couldn't believe they were still alive. Just like the Hand; cockroaches to the last.

"Nice of you to worry, but I can take care of myself."

"Didn't say you couldn't, but it's still better to be careful than regret it later. Look, just let me come with you. I can watch your back and maybe I can get a lead on who's bankrolling these bastards. I got a feeling it's connected to that Hobgoblin guy Gwen's going after." Seemed to fit his M.O of running some kind of 'villain union', at least. Or at least that's what he'd tell Gwen when she asked.

"...You're _that_ bored?"

"I'm going insane here." No use in mincing words to a journalist, "Come on. How'd you feel if someone tried to keep you locked up 'for your own good'."

"I'd probably scratch my own eyes out," she said without a hint of hesitation, "But that's just me. Still, as your best friend-"

"That's Cindy."

"...As your best _journalist_ friend-"

"I dunno, I actually kinda like that Eddie Brock guy-"

"Right, goodbye."

She packed up her laptop and made to leave before he grabbed her hand, "Alright, I'm sorry. I'm just trying to make more jokes. Gwen thinks I should lighten up."

"W-H-I-P-P-E-D." She made a whip sound effect and grinned while he gave her a flat stare, "I'm being serious though. You don't think Gwen's gonna be pissed? Those tentacles are not an idle threat." Why did she keep bringing those up? Was it any worse than the teeth or the strength to punch through a tank?

"I can deal with it. Besides, she'll be fine once I show her what's going on. I think this is connected to another bastard she's going after."

"Alright, fine, but when she catches us I am throwing you under _all_ the buses. And I won't even feel bad."

"If I'm going down then I'm taking you with me, Summers."

Both he and Norah snuck out through the window and made their way to the nearby train station. The late night train was practically abandoned save a sleeping woman with a bag of booze next to her. He was almost tempted to sneak a couple out; it'd been days since he had a drink, "You know, this is a pretty far stretch to go on a date with me," Norah smirked, "If you just wanted to ask me out you could've been more upfront."

"Oh yeah, you hired me to be your photographer-"

"Photo monkey!"

"_Photographer_ because you wanted an interview with Spider-Man. And you didn't realize it was me for about a month. You're definitely the gal for me."

"Sorry, Benjy, I'm just not into dating right now. Focusing on my career, ya know? Though you are my type, so you got that going for you."

"You gotta be messed up if someone like me's 'your type'."

"Ooh, don't let Gwen hear ya say that. She'll go off on a rant about how you're better than you think you are."

"Heh, you're probably right." She always tried to look for the best in people...except for Matt and Moon. Far as she was concerned they were nothing but bastards to their core, "Hey, I been meaning to ask. What the hell's up with you and Castle?"

"Frank? Uh...we're friends, I guess?"

"Last I checked Castle didn't do friends." Or family. Made it clear they didn't matter much to him, even if he was willing to fight Murdock for revenge, "I'm really hoping your 'type' doesn't include psychopaths."

"What is this, an interrogation?" He raised a brow. _That_ sounded far more defensive than it should have, "Hey, don't look at me like that. I know when I'm being psychoanalyzed."

"Don't have to. You're so damn defensive it's obvious something's there." He scoffed, "Wanna tell me?"

"Uh, I am not _nearly_ drunk enough for that. Try again."

Norah watched in confusion as he stood and made his way to the sleeping woman on the opposite side of their chairs, "'Scuse me..." He picked up two cans of (lukewarm, cause of course it was) beer and left 20 dollars in their place. Seemed fair, "Here. Best you're gonna get." He handed her one of the cans. She stared at it warily and grimaced when she took the first sip, "Not your thing."

"I generally prefer my beer cold, yeah." She rolled her eyes, "Why are you asking anyway? You actually wanna ask me out?"

"I'm...worried about you," he said slowly. She blinked languidly in response, "Despite everything we _are_ friends, and as much as I know Castle isn't a total bastard that doesn't exactly mean I completely trust him."

"Yeah, I get it." She sighed softly, "Well...we slept together."

"I gathered that. You weren't exactly subtle." She didn't announce it to the world or anything, but he could make an educated guess based on how she was acting, "I'm not gonna judge you for it. That last month a year ago wasn't exactly a field of roses and we took any kind of reprieve we could. I just...wanna make sure there's nothing deeper than that."

"Trust me, there isn't." She smirked, though it was weaker than she might've wanted, "I just...alright, realtalk for a minute. One of the reasons I became a journalist is cause I wanted to spite my mom and grandma. They wanted me to stay in buttfuck Wisconsin and, I dunno, make cheese or baskets or something. I wanted away and figured being a journalist was the easiest thing."

"And here I thought you found your calling in exposing injustices."

"We can't all be saints like Gwen, hm?" She took a long sip of her beer, "I mean I do want to do that, but...I dunno how to say it. You ever get that high when you're in danger or getting into a fight?"

"No. Fighting is...it's something you do when you have to. No fun in it."

"Look at you, Mr. Zen." She finished off the can, "Some of the things I've been doing. You know, sneaking into gang hideouts, tangling with darkweb hackers...I get nightmares from that, but a part of me loves the rush. Like the guy who weaves through traffic or Gwen when she goes on one of her swings through town. It's a part of me, you get?"

"So...Castle was just another high?"

"I guess? Like I said it's hard to explain. I do trust him, and I think he's got more of a heart than he lets on, but that danger and the idea of going with the freaking _Punisher_? Yeah, there's kind of a rush there." She smiled, though it was noticeably crooked, "One of my psychologist buddies in college said I probably just never grew up. I'm still that teenager rebelling against her parents."

"Most teenagers kill themselves diving through dumpsters for a high. Least you're doing something."

"I like to think so."

The rest of the ride was spent in a heavy but not uncomfortable silence. Peter looked across to his impromptu partner and caught her fingering the scar on her cheek, "You know I could do something about that," he said. She always paraded it around as a mark of accomplishment; something she and Cin shared, "I picked up some tricks. Could help fade those out." Stick would've tanned his hide if he knew he was offering Chi for skincare.

"You offer the same thing to Cindy?"

"Yeah, she didn't want to. Says she wants to remember."

"Same here then. Kinda. I dunno, I just think it looks cool." She shrugged, "Ooh, but I do have a bruise on my side that's getting really purple. Katzenberg bumped into me 'accidentally'."

"Sure. Show it." She pulled up the side of her hoodie and shirt to expose the right side of her waist. The bruise wasn't too large, though it did stick out considering the paleness of the skin around it, "Surprised you didn't pay this guy back."

"Who says I didn't?" She squirmed slightly when his fingertips grazed skin, "Kicked him in the balls. Accidentally. Seriously, though, I've got no clue why Robbie still accepts freelance work from that guy. I feel slimy just looking at him."

"Pragmatism wins the day." A dull yellow light seeped into her flesh and when he pulled his hands back the bruise was gone, "There. Tell me if you need anything, but don't abuse it. I'm your friend, not a miracle worker."

"Sure, sure. I'll hit you up when I find any more nasties." She looked up, "We're coming up on the station. Let's go."

The walk to the location was short. Peter made sure to keep his hood up and his mask close at hand. Norah said she just wanted to meet a contact and gather some info, preferably without any punching, "This guy better be worth it for the money I'm spending," the blonde muttered next to him. Her hood was pulled up as well with one eye partially covered by her hair. It was definitely a different look on her.

"Aren't you worried he might recognize you? You're pretty well-known for exposing Matt." Apparently she was going to pretend to be an aspiring recruit.

"Best part of being a journalist: fame in our world is way different. Pretty sure most people just know I'm a blonde, and good luck narrowing that down." She stopped and looked around, "He's not here."

"Should we wait?"

"Yeah, I'm getting my money's worth, damn it."

The wait ended up being for naught. Barely 15 minutes had passed before a pair of footsteps reached them...and it definitely wasn't who they were looking for, "There you are!" Helen stopped and put her hands on her knees as she panted, glaring up at them. Real nice leaving me waiting down there."

"How the hell did you find us?" Peter asked incredulously.

"Find my phone app," Helen said nonchalantly. Peter opened his phone and cursed when he saw said app on the screen, "What the hell?"

"You know I think the blame is partially on you for not password locking your freaking phone," Norah said. Peter glared at her, "What? I'm not the one who put that in there so don't look at me like that."

"It doesn't matter." Helen stood up straighter now, "Point is you two snuck out. Let's go back."

"We're doing something right now, Helen. Just give us some-" Spider-sense. Not danger, something else. Peter looked around and narrowed his eyes when he saw a bunch of masked figures going into a building on the next street over, "...Tell me I'm not the only one who saw that."

"Nope, saw em too. Spider-Worshippers." He wanted to wipe that grin off Norah's face, "Looks like your fanclub got here ahead of us."

"Just great..." Helen sighed.

"They're gonna get themselves killed." He put on his mask and followed with Norah coming after him. Helen stayed behind called someone - probably the police - on her phone. This was why he never saw the appeal of fame - too many idiots who got themselves hurt 'for you'. He didn't know how Gwen dealt with it, "I'm gonna go up. You should probably stay here-"

"Not happening. We're partners, so you're not ditching me."

"Your funeral." He grabbed hold of her with his right arm and shot a line of webbing from Gwen's webshooter with the other. The biocable pulled them up quickly and Peter ran towards the nearby skylight. Spider Worshippers were fighting against a buncha mooks dressed up in green and pumpkin masks, "Damn it, I gotta get down there. You stay here. No arguments."

"Fine. I'll take some pictures."

Peter jumped and crashed through the skylight, raining glass down on everyone below. Most them looked up in shock just before he threw the smoke grenade, _'Focus...' _He charged towards the pumpkin masked figures through the smoke. He wasn't blind anymore, but he could still see the world through more than just his eyes.

Peter disarmed the closest one's knife and snapped his wrist. The pumpkin headed bastard screamed and Peter kicked the knife into the corner before slamming him down to the floor. It was tempting to use it himself, but the last thing he needed now was anyone dying.

He webbed down two more stumbling figures and focused on another. The smoke was dissipating now and both sides were going back to their fighting. He just hoped his 'fans' could take care of themselves.

"Holy shit, that's the real Spider-Man!" One of his 'fans', a woman by the sounds of her , screamed. Peter ignored her and webbed down a couple more who tried to attack him.

He headbutted another Lantern thug and looked around to assess the situation. No firearms from what he could see, just pipes, knives, crowbars and anything else they could grab. Hopefully it meant no one would end tonight bleeding out of their skull.

There were only a few left by the time he saw a few of the Lanterns cut and run. Peter punched away the Lantern trying to grapple him and chased after them, "Hey, wait up!" Norah jumped down from the fire escape and shot one of the Lanterns running below her with a tazer. The pumpkin headed bastard convulsed briefly and fell to the ground.

Peter shot a line of white webbing and snagged another. The Lantern tried to struggle only for Peter to slam him against the wall and web him to the surface.

Only one left.

The last Lantern ran like a man possessed. Peter was forced to wait a few seconds for Norah to land before finally giving chase again. She doubted the guy knew anything worthwhile, but Norah insisted that they catch him anyway.

He'd almost caught up when he heard a *thwip* that definitely didn't come from him. Peter looked up at the source and stopped when he saw Gwen's all too familiar figure swing overhead and tug the Lantern up by a string of webbing. The pumpkin headed bastard screamed and struggled till Gwen webbed him from head to toe and left him hanging from a nearby lamppost.

...Was it too late to run?

"Yes, it's too late to run." Did he say that out loud? Peter stepped back slightly as Gwen landed on the ground, the eyes of her mask narrowed. Not a good sign, "Hey Peter, funny seeing you here." Her voice was calm and sickly sweet. Another not good sign. He couldn't see Helen anywhere but he got the distinct feeling it wasn't the cops she called.

"Hey Ben I got-" Norah stopped when she saw just who was in front of her, "Oh...well, you seem busy, I'll just uh..."

"You stay right there, Norah. I gotta talk with you too."

"I'd really rather leave-"

"Take one more step and my vengeance will be slow and painful. And filled with tentacles." Norah completely froze. Peter raised a brow; it was clear she was in a bad mood and it wasn't just for them sneaking out, "Now, do you mind explaining just exactly what you were doing here?"

"Following a lead." He nudged his head to the hanging Lantern, "Heard there was was a new gang following Jack's insanity and Summers said she had a source."

"And then his fanclub showed up and made giant mess," Summers added quickly, "Speaking of they're still back there so I really should-"

"Move and your orifices will be violated." Alright, something definitely put her in a mood. Gwen sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, "Peter, what part of 'keep a low profile' do you not understand?"

"The part where it means I'm under house arrest until people stop wanting to kill me," he said, "I get that you're worried, Spider-Woman, but neither of us do this because it's safe and easy. I'll admit Sowande caught us off-guard, but that doesn't mean I can run and hide till someone else solves my problem. I know you're worried, but that's not how this is going to go."

"You're unbelievable." She sighed again and looked him in eyes, "Unbelievable and so lucky that I actually need your help to make any headway on this bounty thing. Norah too."

"Does that mean there won't be unmentionables stuffed up my unmentionables?" Norah asked warily.

"Yes. I was kinda pissed, okay? Sorry about the threats." She shook her head and swung them both up to the nearby rooftop for a little more privacy. Norah stepped away and patted herself down, "...Do you seriously think I left a piece of Webster on you?"

"Can't be too careful."

"This from someone who's best friends with MJ."

The mask peeled away and exposed the troubled expression she had kept hidden, "...What's wrong, Gwen?" Peter asked.

"Good news is I know the guy who put the bounty on you- put that gun down." She glared at him half-heartedly, "Even if I did agree to just let you off this guy we can't be sure killing him will just end the bounty."

"She's got a point," Norah said.

"Point is that we need to do this without throwing punching. So to make a long story short: Peter, we need to break up."

...

"Please make the story longer. I feel like I missed something here."

* * *

**MyChemicalHatred: **Anyone else find it weird that the **Defenders** were being led by a guy who can't even legally drink?

**Reply from KingdomheartsisDARK: **Not any weirder than a 15 year old being one of their past members.

**Reply from BottlesnotPLASTIC: **I'm more curious on where **Spider-Man** keeps _finding _these people. The Avengers I get since most of them are public figures but where in the fuck did he get **Punisher, Black Cat, Striker, Bullseye, Moon Knight, Daredevil, Fire Biker** and **Ninja Lady? **And why are they on his team? Something tells me he's not paying them.

**Reply from Neetman: **Striker said a year ago that they worked together because they all hated Matt Murdock. Think there's another Big Bad for the new Defenders to join up?

**Reply from HandHoldingisLewd: **Personally I think at least a couple of them are there cause they wanna fuck Spider-Man. I mean, did anyone else see how tense he and Daredevil were during Arcade's torture show? And Spidey definitely looked heartbroken when that ninja chick fell. Spider-Woman should watch her back.

**Reply from KingdomheartsisDARK: **Just cause you've made it clear you wanna fuck Spider-Man doesn't mean everyone else does.

**Reply from HahaHoho:** I'd like to interject (and totally derail this topic) by saying that Spider-Woman has a great ass. That is all :D

**Reply from HandHoldingisLewd: **Meh, I think Spinerette's is better.

**Reply from FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderwoman:** Seriously, how do you keep coming back?!

* * *

**I definitely enjoyed writing Norah and Noir's back and forths. Jouranlist/Vigilante friendships are always fun and since they were meant to be the original romance the chemistry still sticks around. **

**Next chapter will be Matt and MJ going after Fancy Dan's crew and, if I have enough time, Gwen enlisting the help/getting advice from the other protagonists plus Norah on her break-up with Peter. And in case you didn't catch on, they're not actually breaking up.**

**Questions:**

**1\. Do you guys want more cross-villain encounters? In this chapter both Noir and Cindy end up fighting against baddies more related to Hogoblin than their own bad guys. I'm also planning for another hero to encounter Cloak and Dagger. Should I keep it up or keep them more segmented?**

**2\. Do you guys want another date chapter? Apparently romance sells and I'm nothing if not hungry for reviews and readers. **

**Review answers:**

**Raw Prodigy - No real plans to include the multiverse outside of a few mentions. Wanna keep the scale focused on New York.**

**SpiderGod766 - I think I've had enough symbiotes.**

**Titan616 - Somehow I doubt Felicia's willing to share with Matt. Also, Gwen being criticized does have merit sometimes, just not when people are being salty cause they didn't get their dream date or they're jealous they don't have powers.**

**Vengeance208 - I think Peter and Lana dated in 'TSA the Amazing Spider-Man vol 2'. Also, too late for MJ. He's with Gwen and now the threesome was most definitely voted against.**

**Noisy-Cricket - The Hellfire Knife already feels like a bit of a power scale mistake.**

**Chaos4Ever - The post credits feels kinda iffy. If people legit believe him and Peter gets shit from the majority despite being a season Avenger who helped save the universe I'm calling shenanigans. **

**KeepCalmAndDrink - Jessica was 32 and George was 51 during V1, a 19 year age difference; incidentally the same age Gwen was for the majority of that volume. It's pretty large, but Jessica doesn't strike me as the type to care.**


	24. Little Red's Claws

**Relatively faster update but the last chapter didn't get much reviews. Not surprising since it was mostly filler. Next chapter will be Gwen and Lana focused for the sake of balance and to get the plot moving again. **

**This is a Mary Jane chapter. I considered adding a Gwen segment to the end but I wanted to keep the tone consistent. Having Gwen ask for advice on how to play femme fatale would've jarred heavily considering what happened. Hopefully this chapter gets a bit more feedback considering I'm trying to tackle the Matt/MJ thing. **

**Side note - Peter has a slight lead on Matt in the voting so far. Also, I highly suggest reading the fic 'Spider-Gwen: On with it'. It updates very fast and is very well written :)**

* * *

**Hopeful_Pessimist:** So my friend wants to join the **Avengers**. How would she go about doing that?

**Reply from Dig-bick:** Um...are you serious? That's like asking how you sign up to be part of Seal Team Six.

**Reply from AviationQUEEN:** Yeah, 'his friend'. Speech 100. Stealth 100.

**Reply from Hopeful_Pessimist:** She's very serious. Hey, the Avengers have to accept members, right? Can't just be six of em forever.

**Reply from Dig-bick: **And what makes her think she has what it takes? I mean does she have powers or...?

**Reply from Hopeful_Pessimist: **No powers, but she's got a 3rd degree black belt in judo. I mean Hawkeye's got no powers besides a bow and arrow and she's one of the core members.

**Reply form Hidinginahole:** If your friends wants to sign up for the Avengers maybe she should try going for the Initiative first? Here's a **link** to the sign up procedures. I heard that really good recruits will get drafted as different Avengers branch members.

**Reply from Hopeful_Pessimist: **She doesn't want to join the Initaiative and be a glorified beat cop. She wants to help with the big leagues.

**Reply from Dig-bick: **'I don't wanna join the police, I wanna be SWAT!' is essentially what your friend's saying. Doesn't work that way dude.

**Reply from Hopeful_Pessimist: **And yet Kate Bishop gets in with no problems? Gotta love those 1 percenter perks. SMDH.

**Reply from Hidinginahole:** Dude, you do know she's estranged from her family, right? She was working as a PI over in Hell's Kitchen when she joined. Also, I wouldn't call helping save the city from the **Carnage Killer** 'no problem'. Not unless your friend was out there judo flipping those monsters.

**Reply from Hidinginahole: **Lol he blocked me.

**Reply from Noobmaster69:** Off topic but I'm confused on the requirements to sign up. I mean some of these guys have powers, but others don't. One of the Initiative members in Houston is Shooting Star and her skills are she can shoot and lasso real good and ride a horse. Couldn't any good enough police officer sign up?

**Reply from Dig-bick: **I dunno either. Honestly I just figure it's how good your costume looks in posters.

* * *

Daniel Brito - better known to his associates as Fancy Dan - had been at the business for years. He started off like a lot of em: poor kid on the street who decided if he was gonna be a taker or a victim. Dear old mom and dad, bless their poor souls, thought a high horse was better than keeping their kids fed so eventually, like anyone else would have, he decided he'd had enough.

Joining a gang was easy. There were dozens of em around in Hell's Kitchen, which everyone now attributed to some kind of demon pullin' the strings. He didn't buy it. People didn't need an excuse to take and do what they do best, demon or no demon. Look at him. He didn't need no devil pulling his strings to do his job as a legitimate, off the books businessman.

After joinin' up moving through the ranks was child's play. It was a balancing act - be loyal enough that the bosses trusted you but not too much that they thought you were just a yes man. There were some morons who thought bein' a lapdog was the fast track to success. He wasn't one of em. He knew when to make friends and when to stab someone in the back. He didn't feel bad about it; it was an occupational hazard in this line of work. If someone stabbed him in the back and he died it would've been his fault for not seein' it comin'.

Those years of experience served him well. He'd done it all - protection rackets, loan sharking, body disposal, birthday parties and even the occasional hit for those complicated individuals. Sure he didn't have any of em fancy powers like that albino freak Tombstone but he did his job and he did it well. 'Sides, no powers meant them fancy Superheroes didn't think he was goin' after. He was just fine being a big fish in a little pond.

Speakin' of work.

"Now, now, now, Philly. What are we gonna do with ya?" Dan sighed and tapped the end of the bloodied baseball bat against his gloved hands. It took em a few days to find the slippery old bastard after Merry Mary decided she didn't wanna pay his bills anymore. Dan didn't blame her. Even he was surprised he had the balls to ask for 10 grand after his daughter bailed him out. Personally he didn't want to give him anything - seemed like a bad investment - but bossman said he wanted it and what the boss said goes.

"P-Please, just...just give a chance to pay it back," Ol' Philly Cheese Steak sputtered. He was a mess, face all fucked up with blood and bruises from his bat kissing his face over and over and over. Boss said to work him over for a bit and see if he spilled anything. Just the face, though. If he couldn't pay anything, which was seeming more and more likely, then they could probably sell some of his organs. Drug addicted and drunk on top, but it wasn't like people in the Kitchen were picky. A liver was a liver.

Dan smacked him in the face again. Philly probably would've fallen over if Montana and Ox didn't keep him on his knees, "This is the same old song you been singing, Philly. You actually got any money for us that don't come at the end of a rainbow?" He nudged the end of the bat to his knees, "Or are we gonna move into your two pals here? I gotta tell ya, the crunch is never pleasant."

"W-Wait, I-"

"You look like you're having fun."

Dan looked back and smirked when he saw Merry Mary not too far off, arms crossed over her (pretty big, if he was bein' honest') chest, "Well now, fancy seein' you here, darlin'." He knew he'd see her again. She was one of them good ones and it made her predictable. Even if her daddy was worth less than tits on a scarecrow she wouldn't abandon him. Just didn't work like that for them good girls.

Merry Mary didn't even look at her blubberin' dad, "Take me to your boss. I'm here to make a deal." Dan raised a brow. A meeting with the boss? Well now she was a brave little thing, wasn't she? Dan whistled while Montana and Ox stared at her. He didn't blame em; she was definitely a looker. The red tanktop, black shorts and sneakers didn't leave much to the imagination, if you caught his drift. Hard to believe she was Philly's kid.

"Oh really now?" Dan asked slowly, "And what makes you think the boss'll meet with ya?"

"Cause I've got money." She raised a wad of bills and tossed it to him. Dan counted it quickly and whistled again. There was at least 20 grand in there, "Figured this guy would have some interest considering how much hassle he was.

"Now where'd someone like you get this much money?"

"Let's just say I made a new friend." Heh, most times he heard that from a dame it was after they got a new sugar daddy. Well, didn't surprise him. She was probably sleepin' with that old pervert Kingsley, "So, do we have a deal?"

"Thing is, darlin', I make the deals around here. Bossman don't like to be fussed with the little stuff, you get me?" He grabbed her chin with one hand and raised her head so they could see eye to eye. She just looked up at him without flinching, "Now I admit your savin' your daddy is admirable, but that doesn't get you an invite to the top. We don't hand those out willy nilly."

"I didn't come here to save him. Kill him if you want, doesn't matter to me." Wow, he almost bought that. Them models were good actresses, "You see that money? That's chump change to what I'm offering. My friend knows that you dabbl in some stuff that you wouldn't exactly want on the records and he's interested. The money was just to show we're good for it, not for him." She practically spat at Philly after that.

"And who is this friend of yours?" He let go of her.

"The name Matt Murdock ring any bells?"

Well now, wasn't _that_ interesting, "And here I thought you were sleepin' with Kingsley. Yeah, we know. Who doesn't know the Kingpin? Still, what's it matter? Apparently he was just some demon's bitch and he turned over a new leaf."

"Please, you honestly believe that? You don't think it's just really convenient that he names some names and he's still got a penthouse and immunity to prosecution? The Kingpin was playing the long game. So what if he threw some of those guys under the bus? You think there won't be more to take their place? Kingpin's starting up again and he's looking for good men."

"See, thing is how do we know we won't be the next names he tosses?"

"He already knows your name, Daniel Brito. And your boss 'The Big Man', or as his friends call him, Frederi-"

"Hey now!" He stepped closer to her. She didn't even move, "Them names ain't something you blurt out, darlin'."

"Point is he knows who you are and he could go to the press if he wanted. But he's not, because he knows when to cut a deal. That's all this is. You take me to your boss and I make my offer? You say yes? Then we've got a deal. You say no? Then he looks for someone else who knows a good offer when they see it. Either way it's no skin off my nose."

"Heh, you got a silver tongue on you, girly." He grinned, "Call me curious, but how'd you get involved with the Kingpin of all people?"

"Same way I got involved with you." Ah, daddy dearest. Why was he not surprised? "Look, let's not pretend I'm bigger than I am. You think I'm the only one he sent out to make one of these deals? He's got dozens of people all over the city. He said that if I did this I can consider Phil's debt paid, so can we just do this? I honestly don't care if you say yes or no. I just want this over with."

"Don't shoot the messenger, eh? I get that. Still, you're gonna have to make it worth our while. Boss doesn't meet with just anyone."

"What do you want? More money?"

"Nah, somethin' a bit simpler. See, boss has been hankerin' for some company of the feminine kind."

She raised a brow, "Thought your boss didn't do those kinds of thing?"

"Nah, I said _we_ weren't allowed to do that. The Big Man can do whatever the hell he wants. So, we got a deal?"

"Fine. Anything to get this guy off my back." He leered at her. He had to admit, he felt jealous of the bossman right then and there. If he was just a bit younger (tough he personally thought he was still at his prime at 39) he would've gone for her himself. But now he was focused. No time for spread legs when you got work, "So, are we going or what?"

"Not so fast. Gotta make sure you ain't wearing a wire."

She sighed and raised the sleeveless shirt up till it reached her chest before spinning around. Montana's eyes looked like they were gonna pop out, "There, I'm not wearing a wire. Happy now? Can we go?"

"Sure, sure. What do we do about ol' Philly Cheese Steak here?"

"I don't care. I'm not here for him, remember?"

The four of em left Philly down at the alley. Ox and Montana were up front while he and Merry Mary took up the backseats. For someone who was walkin' into the lion's den the girl looked damned bored. She just looked out the window and completely ignored Ox giving her that ol' hangdog look. Boy was thicker than a sack of bricks but he was good at his job.

"Watch it there, darlin'. Looks like Ox got a little crush on ya."

"Oh good, that's just what I needed." She sneered and crossed her right leg over the left. Montana looked up from the wheel to the rearview mirror to look at her too. Either the dame knew exactly what she was doing or she was dumber than ox after he got some booze in him.

They stopped in front of the old office building, "This is the place?" She stepped and closed the door behind her. The men keeping watch outside gawked at her. They were used to ladies of the night wanderin' in for the boss' daily fuckin', but she was different. Looked like a college girl who made a wrong turn somewhere. Already saw some of em lickin' their lips and undressin' her with their eyes.

"Hey John, bossman in?"

"Yeah, he's upstairs. Who's this?" He eyed Merry Mary.

"Someone makin' a deal. No one touch her." He led the way to the second floor. Marylooked around as they walked down the hall and up the stairs, "Ain't nothin' fancy, but it gets the job done."

"Low profile too. No wonder I couldn't find you." She smiled at that. Looked off on her.

"Well, here we are." He knocked on the door to the bossman's room, "Hey, boss, ya there? Someone here for you. Business and pleasure."

"Get in here then."

He opened the door and was met with the sight of the big man himself leaning back on a his personal couch. Usually he would've had a dame on each arm but instead he was sitting across from a big man in a white suit, A business deal, "Ah, Mr. Reilly. Pleasure to see ya again." Dan smiled. James Reilly, head of the upcoming Irish mob in the kitchen with a stranglehold on the drug trade. He respected the man, even if they'd crossed more than once."

"Daniel," he said back, accent thick and rich, "Who's this little thing?"

"Mary Watson. Came here to make a deal, and other things." He grabbed her butt and nudged her forward. The bossman leaned forward and eyed her up and down. He liked what he saw, "Figured you'd wanna hear what she said." Wasn't like he had to be worried. There was half a dozen of their boys in the room plus him, Ox, Montana and Reilly's guys. If she tried anything she wouldn't get far.

"So...you're the boss, huh?" Mary crossed her arms and stared at him. He didn't blame her. The big man drew your attention, good or bad. He was tall and lanky, kinda like a scarecrow accordin' to the police files, with pasty white skin like barely hidden by his black suit; just like that freak Tombstone. He was strong too. Saw the man pull a knife out of his gut and stab the dumbass stupid enough to try and attack him with it. Apparently he got lucky with the mists.

"Yeah, and you're my...entertainment for tonight?"

"You could say that." There was that smile again, "Before we get down to business I'd like to ask if you dabble in selling products with fingers and toes."

"Heavy question to start with, doll." He laughed, "Since nothing's leaving this table, sure. I dabble in it. It's not my main source of income, but anything that makes money is fair game."

"I see. So...does the name Madelyn Turner mean anything to you?" The boss' eyes narrowed while Dan looked at Mary warily. What the hell was she playing at? "Cause I heard from a friend of yours that your little group here was the one who sold her to that piece of shit Arcade." Her smile got wider, "Tell me if I'm right cause I get the feeling I am."

"What the hell is this?" The big man stood and pointed a gun at her. The boys looked around warily then followed suit while Reilly and his guys just watched, "You're not a mole, Dan wouldn't have let you in here with a wire, and you're not even trying to hide. What are you? Some kind of wannabe Superhero?"

"Heh..._**you wish.**_"

And then she sliced the boss' arm off. It was so fast if he blinked then he would've missed it - one second the boss was pointin' a gun at her and the next there was nothin' but a bloody stump. The big man looked at where his arm used to be then he screamed, "Fuck! Kill this crazy bitch! Shoot you-" Mary's arm - a blade - stabbed him in the gut and pinned him to the wall before slowly, tortuously moving up to his head.

The boss screamed again and they finally got their bearings.

"Shoot! Shoot, god damn it!" Dan screamed. He shot his pistol and kept pulling the trigger till he was out of ammo. Everyone else around him did the same, even Reilly and his boys. Pistols, sawn offs, uzis; they unloaded it all on her and kept firin till there should've been nothin' left.

Emphasis on should've been.

"**_Are you done?_**" She twisted her head around and Dan near on pissed himself when he saw her face. Gone was the pretty redhead and instead there was some...thing where her head should've been. Not entirely. There were still parts of her face that looked like the Mary from before, but it was nothing compared to the pulsating red flesh and teeth that covered the rest of her.

Dan fumbled to reload his gun when she sliced his stomach open. He looked down at gaping wound for a second before he dropped the pistol and stumbled back. There was a lot of screaming after that, everyone either trying to fight or escape. Dan didn't pay attention to any of it. He managed to stumble out the door, hands trying to hold his guts in, and whimpered when Ox tried to run past him and got impaled through the back of the head for his trouble. He couldn't even see Montana.

Insane. This was insane. It wasn't supposed to be like this. He told the boss getting involved with that crazy assassin would would be trouble but he didn't fucking listen! The money was good, he said, and besides what did it matter what happened to that brat? Might as well get a pretty penny for her 'fore she spoiled.

He could still hear the screaming behind him. Dan stumbled down the turn in the hallway and stopped when the pain became too much, "Damn it..." He slowly pulled his hand back and almost threw up when he saw the guts spilling out. He needed a doctor, fast. Hell, he'd throw himself to the nearest boy in blue if it meant getting away from this.

And then it became quiet. No screams, no gunfire, nothing. Dan shut his eyes tightly and continued down the hall. He just needed to-

Footsteps. He heard footsteps.

"No. No, no, no, no, no...!" He had to move. Dan raised one hand against the wall and pushed himself as fast as he could. The footsteps got closer and closer till they stopped again.

When Dan looked back he found Mary standing at the end of the hall. She was covered head to toe in red - blood and that fucked up skin of hers. He could see more of her face now, but the veins that pulsed up her jaw up to her cheeks wasn't a reassuring sight.

And then when her eyes met she smiled.

She walked towards him again. Slow, trying to drag it out. He knew it was pointless, that he couldn't get away, but he still continued on and kept walking, "H-Hey now, Mary, let's make a deal, huh?" She didn't stop, "I-I dunno what you want, but I'm a businessman. You want it, I can get it for ya. We can all be reasonable here, huh? C-Come on, let's deal! Please!"

The first slash cut across his back. Dan fell to the ground and screamed as she cut across his back again and again and **again**. Dan screamed till his voice grew hoarse and he cried, begging for someone, anyone to help him, "**_How's it feel?_**" The monster hissed, "**_This is what that little girl felt in that last minute. So tell me, how does it feel, Dan?_**"

All this...because of that damn brat? Dan opened his mouth and nothing came but pained, bloody gurgles. His body twitched and convulsed and he used what little strength he had left to try and crawl forward before a feeling of cold seeped over him and he lay still.

**_'He's dead.'_**

_'Tell me something I don't know.' _Mary Jane looked down at Dan's bloody, cut up corpse and felt...nothing. She thought she'd feel happy. Justice served, right? These bastards wouldn't go after anyone again.

Instead all she could think about was how disappointed Gwen was going to be.

She threw up. It was an odd feeling, going from calm to so sick she could barely stand, _**'Don't tell me you're feeling guilty now!'**_ Crimson groused, _**'We got more than we bargained for! First we killed that guy's boss and then the guy he was talking to. That's less people they'll hurt! You should be happy!'**_

_'Why the hell did I act like that?'_ She could've just killed them quickly, impaled each and every one of them in the head before they could do anything. Instead she dragged it out and stalked Dan the hall like a damned slasher villain.

**_'Part of the exchange,'_** Crimson said,_** 'You change me, and I change you, remember? This is a give and take, Red. If you being a goodie two shoes means I don't want to kill Stacy anymore me being the fun one means you'll let loose every now and then.'**_

_'Let loose?! This wasn't a freaking bender, Crimson!' _She shook her head and stood up straighter. Much as she wanted to keep arguing she couldn't stay here for long. Eventually the gunshots would be reported and the last thing she needed was to be here when the cops showed up, "Where the hell is Daredevil...?" He said he'd deal with the lower floor. She didn't bother to talk him out of it.

Footsteps came up the stair. Mary Jane morphed her fingers to claws till he saw Daredevil limping up the stairwell, "...You look like shit." She looked him up and down. There was a noticeable wound at his left side. Buckshot maybe?

"A charmer as always, Ms. Watson." He grinned, showing off his bloodstained teeth, "I made sure no one else below is breathing. No one will remain to testify of our presence here and the police will assume it was a gang war gone wrong."

"Seriously? Last I checked most gangs don't eviscerate people."

"You haven't read up on Leland Owlslely then." He laughed under his breath, "It doesn't matter if it's true or not; it's the conclusion the police will rush to in order to come up with a convenient explanation. It helps that Mr. Foswell was one of the Gifted. They'll find some way to pin the odd state of the bodies on him. So easy to distrust what you fear, isn't it?"

"Whatever you say..." She pursed her lips, "Are we done here?"

"Not yet. I want to search through Foswell's files. If he's any kind of meticulous then I imagine he kept a list of his contacts, buyers and other such things for insurance. This was just one part of a tangled web, Scarlet Spider."

"Of course it is..."

They ended up getting the files (no, she didn't question how a blind man could read ink) and swinging away just in time for the cops to check over the scene. Mary Jane didn't look back and just followed Murdock. She tried not to dwell on what she'd just done. Because of what they did there wasn't any proof they were there - no witnesses, no fingerprints, nothing.

Eventually Murdock stopped at a far enough rooftop and sat on one of the vents. He pulled his mask off and hissed as he pressed both hands against his sides, "You dying or something?" she snarked.

"Would that we were all so lucky." he laughed, "No, I'll survive for a while yet, though I'm afraid I pushed myself beyond my limits tonight. Sometimes I forget I don't have a demon in my corner anymore."

"Is that supposed to be a joke?"

"A grim one, but yes." He stood up shakily and put his mask back on. It didn't do much to hide the pain he was in, "It pains me to say it but I would like to ask for your help. I've reached the limitations of my limited chi abilities." Chi? What was this, meals on wheels?

"Seriously? You think that's a good idea?" She raised a brow.

"I simply need to make sure that I don't collapse before I find sanctuary. You have good reason to share that sentiment as well - wouldn't want these placed in the wrong hands, would you?" He gestured to the stacks of files attached to his non-bleeding side. A list of people - targets, prey, _**meat** _\- for her to go after.

"Could just take it from you..."

"And search for them on your own? I know Miss. Winters is an adept journalist but it'll be far slower in comparison to Karen. So..." He raised up a bloody hand, "Would you help me. Please?"

"...Fine."

As expected he didn't want to be taken to a hospital. Instead she swung over to the church she only vaguely remembered from last year's shitshow, "Really didn't wanna come back here..." She knew Norah came back to help the nun who ran this place but all she thought of when it came to this place was being attacked by ninjas, terrorists and ninja terrorists. On Murdock's orders, by the way.

**_'That was a fun day.'_**

"Hello?" She opened the door and dragged Murdock inside. The place was dimly lit and looked like something out of a horror movie, "Any nuns here who care about devils? Cause I got one who's dying."

"Not dying..." Murdock muttered.

The door to the back opened and the nun - Sister Maggie, if she recalled correctly - rushed out and and gave Murdock a pained look when she saw him, "Oh, Matt..." She almost felt sorry for her. Almost. Mary Jane had nothing against the woman, she didn't really know her, but she did know she was Murdock's mom and that meant she didn't really trust her. At least she kept Tiger safe.

Mary Jane followed her to the back and dropped Murdock on the bed. The nun immediately got to work and started to peel off the poorly designed armor, "Oh my boy, you need to stop doing this to yourself," she whispered. He didn't say anything, though whether it was cause he was unconscious or something else she didn't know. Those wounds definitely looked nasty.

"Right...well, I should probably-"

"I need your help." Well, so much for that early exit... "Do you have any first aid experience?"

"Uh, not really? I know how to slap on a band-aid, does that count?"

"It will have to do." Sister Maggie sighed and pulled out a (sparse) first-aid kit, "Hold him down please. I'll disinfect the tools then we can pull the pellets out."

"Yay..."

Murdock almost shot up as soon as the sterilized tweezers pushed through the skin. Mary Jane held him down and resisted the urge to smother his mouth to keep him from groaning. She watched with morbid fascination as Maggie pulled out the pellets one by one and dropped them on a nearby basin. She didn't even try to look away. It depressed her somewhat that the first thing she felt was a morbid sense of humor at the sight. Crimson had fucked her up and she didn't really care anymore.

**_'You love me, little red.'_**

_'...Parasite.'_

She ignored its impotent screams and pushed Murdock down to the bed as Maggie dropped out another pellet, "That's the last one." She breathed heavily wrapped a bandage around his midsection. It was odd seeing a nun so good with tweezers and bandages, "Hmm..." She put a hand on his forehead and frowned, "Fever. I told Matthew not to push his body too hard. He never listens to me."

Mary Jane almost laughed. She was acting like Murdock wasn't a former Kingpin turned vigilante who helped her kill an entire building full of people, "I'll need to buy more supplies and get medicine. Could you stay here? I don't want to leave him alone."

The words 'hell no' were at the tip of her tongue before she saw the look of fatigue on the older woman's face, "...Sure." So sue her she wasn't completely heartless. Mary Jane huffed and sat at the nearby chair, placing one foot at the edge of the bed as she shifted Crimson to the same outfit she wore before. It was nothing special, but she knew it'd make her look harmless; exactly what she needed for Dan and his cronies to think.

10 minutes of merciful quiet passed before Murdock shot up with a flurry of coughs, "Easy there, Daredevil." She made no move to actually push him back down. If he wanted to tear out those bandages then that was on him.

He tapped the wall to his right twice then heaved a sigh of relief, "Hm." He lied back down and stared up at the ceiling, milky eyes unblinking. He looked like a hot mess - blood on his skin and hair, bandages clotted and skin so pale he looked like a ghost. She breathed in slowly through her nose and brought a hand through her hair, trying to ignore the smell of blood and disinfectant in the air.

She was hungry.

"Anything to eat around here?"

"Maggie keeps perishables in the rightmost cabinet. You can probably find a few twinkies there."

**_'We're not desperate for chocolate like Stacy's tether.'_**

_'Food's food.'_

She got the bars and, just cause she was nice, made sure to grab one for him, "Head's up." She was mildly impressed when his right hand shot up and caught the thrown bar, "Your mom went out to get meds." She sat back down and opened the first pack. Nut flavored, her least favorite, "FYI she said you had a fever too."

"Yes, that would explain the coughs and chills." Or maybe it was the gaping hole in his gut. Either or, "I have to thank you for bringing me here."

"Can't die yet. You still have that list."

"Ah but of course. A mutual need." He laughed quickly before he suddenly coughed again. She saw him spit out blood, "I suppose this is my own fault. Maggie'd warned me that pushing beyond my limits so soon would only end badly."

"Mhm." Where the hell was the nun of the hour anyway?

"I'm curious about something. Would you answer my question?"

"Just spit it out."

"Why the charade?" She didn't reply, "I'll admit your plan to pretend to be an agent to not-reformed Kingpin was clever, but there were too many ways it could've failed. If this Fancy Dan hadn't been so blinded by pride, and his companions with lust, they would've pried deeper into your story."

"I doubt it. From what I heard from Gwen you were exactly the kind of fucked up asshole who'd make people pay back gambling debts by making them run errands."

"Give me some credit, Ms. Watson. I do have a sense of pragmatism." He laughed. She didn't, "Though, I suppose I can't fault you for your course of action. You had to save your father, after all."

"You think I did it to save that waste of skin?"

"Alright, riddle me this then: why bother with the charade?"

"Uh, to find out where his boss was? He didn't exactly advertise his place."

"So why not make the offer after your father expired? It certainly would've saved us the trouble of having to procure funds." She didn't reply, "Or why not simply cut out the middleman and simply follow Mr. Brito back to his boss? It would've taken longer, certainly, but we're both adept enough in tracking that it would've been less risky than a gamble that might well put the entire gang under a lockdown."

Again, no answer.

"I suppose you leaving him in that alley was a way for you to deny this thought. If he dies then it's not your fault but if he survives then he will have learned his lesson-"

"Shut up." Her hands clenched into tight fists, "You think I did to to save him? I already tried that. Again and again and _again_. Every time he just goes back." She scowled and looked away, "This doesn't change anything. If he survives he's gonna pick himself back up and once he can walk again he'll find another bookie to get into debt with. And next time I won't save him."

"But you saved him this time."

"Yeah, and I'm sure that makes up for me killing a building full of people. Gimme the key to the city, huh?" She sneered down at him, "Know what, let's turn this around: what the hell's your deal? Cause I don't buy for a second that you're doing this out of the goodness of your heart."

"Do recall that half the bodies in that building are because of me. Goodness hardly factors into it." He took a deep breath and, with some effort, managed to sit up. Mary Jane didn't bother to push him down, "I'm well beyond the point of redemption, Ms. Watson. I'm going to hell, I've known that for years and I accept it. I'm simply trying to drag as many people down with me."

"Jesus..." Mary Jane brought hand down her face and took a deep breath. Why did she almost get where he was coming from?

"Misery loves company, or so the saying goes." He laughed under his breath, "The better question would be why you're doing this. According to Ms. Stacy's posts on social media she's trying to mold you into a Superhero. Why jeopardize that and go on this baseless crusade?"

"Baseless cru- those bastards sold a little girl and god knows how many people!"

"So it was for justice, then? Fighting for the nameless masses that would no doubt be horrified by your actions tonight?" No response, "Even as we talk now thousands of people suffer the same indignities Madelyn Turner had. That's the thing about justice - always so hard to enforce when free will gets involved."

"I didn't come here to debate. I did what I did, there's no point thinking about it."

"Hm...I wonder if Ms. Stacy would feel the same if she knew."She almost lashed out and cut his throat. Murdock looked down at her clawed hands and smiled wryly, "If you kill me now I won't fight; I'm incapable of it."

"I need you alive, remember?"

"So you do. You and Peter both are stuck in rather undesirable positions." For a second he looked disappointed. ...Must've just been her imagination, "Well, I suppose we'll see each other soon. This list is rather...extensive."

"Really wasn't planning to make this a partnership..." She could kill well enough on her own. She didn't need his help.

"We don't always get what we want." She was about to retort with something biting when he slowly twisted his head to the door, "My warden is coming to check on me. I suggest you take your leave."

The door opened and someone who most definitely wasn't Maggie Murdock stepped into the room. Mary Jane stood and backed away warily as Karen Page took slow, measured steps to the bed, "Bedridden again, Matthew?"

"You know me, Karen. I love to disappoint."

The blonde's eyes shifted from one redhead to the other. Mary Jane stiffened as the district attorney's gaze washed over her fully. It was like she was being judged. She knew there was _something_ up with her, but not exactly what. Peter was tight lipped about it for some reason, "You're Ms. Watson, correct? A pleasure to finally meet you." She smiled, almost but not quite reaching her eyes. Like someone trying to be friendly but didn't know how, "You my thanks for watching out for this idiot."

"You wound me, Karen."

"From what I see you don't need help in that regard." She sighed, "I'll watch over him. You may leave."

It was brief, but she saw a look pass Murdock's face. He didn't want her to go; didn't want to be alone with the D.A, "Sure, thanks." Mary Jane paid it no mind and walked out, shifting herself a jacket over her tanktop. Whatever drama the two had was none of her business. She had enough troubles of her own without adding some kind of twisted love affair between the D.A and the former Kingpin.

She found herself walking down a familiar route. Gwen buzzed her phone but she didn't answer; didn't know what to say to her now,**_ 'Let's find something more substantial to eat,'_ **Crimson said suddenly.

Mary Jane didn't bother arguing and beelined for the closest corner store, "Good eveni- Oh, Mary Jane." Mary smiled slightly when they made eye contact.

"Yeah, hey." Mary Jane smiled back as best she could and started packing whatever food she could afford; which was a lot. She kinda had twenty grand burning a hole in her pocket now.

She stepped up to the counter and Mary frowned, "Are you okay? You look kinda sick."

_'Yeah, totally fine. Just hating myself for the fact that I'm so fucked up that I don't hate myself.'_ Mary Jane plastered on a grin and shrugged, "Just one of those days. Surprised you're still here. Modeling gig not paying enough?"

"Money's money. Need all I can to pay up that mounting student loan."

"Heh, yeah, I get your-"

The next few seconds passed by in a quick blur. She remembered a guy in a balaclava kicking down the door and pointing a gun to their heads. She remembered Mary screaming and putting her hands up. She remembered being too slow to do the same and the bastard shooting her in the side. And then...

And then the bastard was over the counter and Mary Jane was wailing on his face.

She didn't know how long it was before she stopped, but eventually she had enough and tossed the guy to a nearby shelf hard enough to almost break it in half, "...Damn it." She turned around quickly to the other redhead. Mary's eyes were wide and both hands covered her mouth, "Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine..." She took a deep, shaky breath and looked at Mary Jane's right side. The side that was conspicuously missing a bullet hole and blood, "H-How did you..."

"I, uh...I was there when the Terrigen thing hit," she said quickly. It wasn't the best excuse, but it made sense, "I've been trying to keep it on the downlow. Didn't wanna make a big deal out of it, you know?"

"O-Oh..." Mary eyed the unconscious would-be robber.

"So...this is kinda awkward, but could you maybe delete the tapes? I don't wanna advertise I'm packing."

"Don't worry about it, those cameras don't work." She finally managed to regain some semblance of calm, "Do you need me to call an ambulance?"

"Huh? Oh, no, I'm fine. See?" She raised her shirt to show off the very-much uninjured skin, "Does come with some perks."

**_'You're welcome.'_**

"I see..."

"Uh, I'll pay for that shelf." She took two grand and put it on the counter, "I should...I should go, okay? Make sure to call the cops!"

And then she ran out before Mary could say anything. The smaller redhead frowned at the mess and made sure to call 911 after nudging the gun out of arms reach. She wasn't worried; the guy didn't look like he was going anywhere for a while.

She made her way to the backroom and checked the security tapes. She lied; the cameras worked just fine, "She's one of the Gifted." She looked over the footage. Despite having lived through it just minutes prior watching the video Mary Jane still looked surreal. She didn't even look like she noticed the bullet and she manhandled the masked man without any effort whatsoever. Super strength and durability, at least.

_...It wasn't fair. _

Shaking her head, she made a copy for herself before deleting the rest. If the boss asked she'd just say it was a glitch. He wouldn't care, "Mary Jane's one of the Gifted..." she repeated. Her new friend had saved the day while she just stood there screaming and crying.

And once again in her life Mary MacPherran felt small.

* * *

**CHOOOCOLLLATTTEEE!**: Been hearing rumors that **Spider-Man** and **Spider-Woman** broke up.

**Reply from TOS: **Gee, I wonder if this is any different than the other ten thousand rumors that they broke up /s

**Reply from Foolkiller: **Apparently people saw her getting really close to **Will-o****-the-Wisp **earlier. Still not sure if it's anything, though.

**Reply from TOS: **Gonna press X to Doubt that one. Fanboys/Fangirls/Fanothers always looking for an excuse to think Spider-Woman's free. It's pretty sad.

**Reply from MbNbKb:** Yeah, doubting here too. If she stayed with him after one year then I'm pretty sure they're good.

**Reply from CHOOOCOLLLATTTEEE!**: Uh...just got a hit from Spider-Woman's latest tweet. **-embedded link-**

_[**FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman**: Yes, the rumors are true. Me and Spider-Man are no longer together. No, I don't wanna talk about it.]_

**Reply from TOS:** ...Well shit, now I owe Gayle 50 bucks.

* * *

**Like I said up above the next chapter will focus more on Gwen and Lana and, hopefully, be lighter in tone. If I have enough room I might be able to squeeze in a quick segment of Noir having to deal with Satanna wanting him to investigate a succubus brothel for her now that he's newly single. As expected, Gwen is not amused.**

**Question:**

**1\. So since people want a date chapter it feels appropriate to ask what kind of date you guys wanna read about. I already did carnival and camping trip so let's pull a few more from the cliche list:**

**\- Casual date to the movies**

**\- Beach trip (though this is more of a group outing)**

**\- Webflicks and chill**

**\- Dinner date at a fancy restaurant**

**\- Patrolling as partners**

**\- Threesome with Mary Jane**

**...Okay not that last one, but you get my point. Pick from the list or suggest your own cause I'm not good with this romance stuff. **

**Review Answers:**

**SpiderGod766 - I have a tendency to let plot threads stew; it's nothing new for me. As for gear, still deciding.**

**Eragen - They broke up. Such a tragedy.**

**Raw Prodigy - I can write fast when not distracted by my chronic procrastination**

**Titan616 - Laura's also kinda turning into a spoiled little thing. **


	25. Better to have loved and lost

**Again for people reading both this and Two Spiders - I will update that eventually, but it's gonna be slower since I'm not so used to writing lighthearted stuff. So please be patient and asking me if I abandoned that fic. I didn't, I just have a hard time updating at the moment. Maybe watching Marvel Rising: Battle of the Bands will give me ideas.**

**And yes I heard about the Spider-Man MCU debacle. I have some thoughts on it but I don't really mind all that much. So far I'm just taking a wait-and-see approach. **

**Also, I've gotten some reviews indicating that MJ has more screentime than the rest of the protagonists. I have to disagree. I'd say she's about on par with Peter and Gwen and above Cindy and Lana; though even in the case of Cindy it's debatable. Still, I'll take it into consideration.**

**So without further ado, here's the break-up chapter.**

* * *

**DragonKiller75: **Any M&M fans, what do you guys think are the actual alignments of the heroes?

**Reply from DragonDeesNuts:** Isn't there an alignment list on the third page?

**Reply from DragonKiller75****: **Yeah but that just lists all the Avengers as Lawful Good, which I doubt they really are. I mean I'd say **Spider-Woman's** defo Neutral Good considering her stint as a vigilante and her relationship with Spider-Man.

**Reply from Sug_Madic:** Hmm, I'd say **Hawkeye **and **Striker** counts as Chaotic Good then. Way too many times arguing with the cops about proper procedure. **Spider-Man **is either Neutral or Chaotic Good.

**Reply from Phil-McCrackin:** Nah, I'd say he and any other Defenders are Neutral at best. Maybe not Striker though since she got out.

**Reply from IceWallowCome: **I think really only Captain America, Wasp and She-Hulk count as Lawful Good. Spider-Woman and **Spinerette** are friends with a vigilante while Hawkeye is off doing her own thing most of the time.

**Reply from Come_Stayin:** I think this is pointless. Real people can't just be defined by arbitrary alignments on a point. I mean Spider-Woman helped stopped us from being nuked. Does that mean if she kills less people than she saved she never changes alignment cause it balances out?

**Reply from DragonDeesNuts:** I dunno man, I didn't make the topic.

**Reply from thisisausername:** Okay off topic but the WTF is with these usernames?

**Reply from P3N15:** Dunno what you're talking about.

* * *

"Ladies and gentleman. We're gathered here today for a very important reason."

Gwen looked at all the gathered people in the room. Most of them had expression of utter boredom apart from MJ (who still looked confused on the whole thing) and Peter (who honestly just looked tired of the whole thing). Lana and Cindy were on their phones, texting and calling someone respectively, while Norah typed on her laptop without even a cursory glance upwards.

Rude.

"Helloooo." She clapped her hands loudly. They _finally_ looked up from their tech. Jess probably would've rolled her eyes and made a comment about millenials cause she was an old woman in a 30 something body, "Everybody paying attention?"

"To what? All you said was, and I quote, 'get your asses over here I need your help to play black widow," Cindy said dryly, "And as someone who knows the actual Black Widow, I gotta tell ya I'm not liking your chances. Not unless you decide catsuits and pistols are your thing."

"I think she means she needs to seduce someone," Lana said, "I think her chances of that are even worse than her going superspy. No offense, Pete, but you ain't exactly the hardest to get to spread your legs open. You're kind of a slut."

Peter rolled his eyes and and almost gave her the middle finger. Almost. He was always too polite for stuff like that, in Gwen's opinion, "I still think this plan's moronic. If this Roxxon guy's the one who put the bounty on my head then just gimme and address and a few hours to get a vibranium bullet from one of Castle's safehouses. Won't take more than a day tops."

"You know Frank doesn't like you borrowing his stuff without asking." Norah hummed.

"I'd ask but I don't know his number. Funnily enough the man with a four digit body count doesn't like to advertise," Peter said.

"Okay, enough," Gwen said quickly. She still didn't like talking about that prick, "I told you last night, Peter, it's not just about the bounty. He's got people caught in experiments-" Cindy's mouth curled into a frown at that, "-and I need him to tell me where that is. He can't tell us anything if he's dead." And, you know, it was wrong to just assassinate people. There were were always..._almost_ always other options.

"Fine, gimme a week and I'll get him talking."

"We're not torturing him either, Peter." Gwen sighed and rubbed her temples.

"I dunno, is trying to seduce the guy really a better option?" MJ asked.

"I don't like it either, but it's a better shot than hooking up his balls to a car battery."

"You know doing that isn't actually very conductive?" Cindy said, pun fully intended cause she was a weirdo like that, "The pain and shock would make them too delirious. Emotional blackmail is really where it's at. People can train to ignore their fingernails being ripped out but when you tell them you know where their kid or their girlfriend or their money is they cave. Or you can go for the fear response. Widow taught me a trick where you cut your own finger and bleed into the guy's face while talking about how disappointed you are. It makes em think 'if she's doing that to herself what the hell is she gonna do to me?'"

A heavy silence settled over the room,"...Have I ever told you how much you scare me?" Gwen asked, only half joking. She knew the other Spider's past was twisted, and the training from S.H.I.E.L.D and her 'care' under her evil twin didn't help, but it still disturbed her sometimes how quickly she could go from making horrible puns and griping about video games to discussing the right ways to break a man down to his basest nature, to use her words.

"Just twice a couple days ago. I find your lack of fear disturbing." Was that a reference to something? "Being serious for a bit, if we're really going with the black widow route why don't you let me handle it? No offense Gwen but I gotta agree with Lana. You don't seem like you're gonna be good at this kind of thing."

"That's the thing: I don't have to be." The older Spider raised a brow and silently urged her to continue, "I met with Cap's not-really-a-friend and he said that he...ugh, he has an 'admiration' for Spider-Woman." Even just saying it out loud made her sick. The thought of that asshole making kissy faces at her posters almost made her retch, "And I spent time with him yesterday to test the waters. Yeah...it was bad."

"How bad?" Lana asked.

Gwen gave the younger Super a dead serious look, "Frog-Man."

"Ah." Her mouth parted slightly in understanding and she nodded, "You have my sympathies."

"Thank you." Gwen nodded back, equally taciturn.

"...Okay, I feel like I'm missing something. Who's Frog-Man and why are we using him as a unit of measurement?" MJ asked.

"Let's just say this guy wasn't exactly subtle. He's been asking to team up for weeks new and me never answering didn't stop him. He even used the SOS function three times. I fell for each one cause I was giving him the benefit of the doubt. Turns out he strung up some muggers and thought it'd impress me and show how 'heroic and humble' he was for doing it without asking for even a thank you."

"O...kay? That doesn't sound so-"

"And he spent last night's team-up 'subtly' telling me how much better he'd be as a boyfriend compared to Peter. Why would I choose someone so crude and thuggish and violent and bla bla and he was so much better cause he has a company and he has more powers and yak yak yak. And the second I didn't stand up for Peter he took it as a cue to start calling him a fucking Supervillain who deserves nothing but the chair. If It wasn't for Webster I would've banged my head against the wall."

"This guy sounds like a bag of charm." Peter sneered, "I still think my way's a good idea."

"Even on the chance we get the location from him your way he's already got the cash in some kind of slush account. We can't be sure that killing him - which again _I don't want to do _if we can help it - will stop new people from taking the bounty."

"Then let em come. That Arcade bastard was just a fluke. We'll be ready next time."

"How about no and please don't dare people to kill you?" Gwen snarked.

"I gotta agree with Gwen," Cindy said, "The last thing we need in New York is a carnival of costumed killers running around gunning for you. Next thing you know they'll be putting innocent people in danger to try and lure you out. I know you'd fall for that."

"...Point." Peter pursed his lips.

"Look, this'll work. I already have a team-up planned with him tomorrow and I tweeted that the two of us 'broke up' last night. Speaking of, how's it going?" she asked Norah.

"Looking good so far," the other blonde said, "Lot of assholes going on and on about how they 'knew this was gonna happen'. Most of em are shitting on Ben, but there's a pretty good chunk that aren't fans of you. A lot of it is calling you an 'uptight bad word' and that he's better off without you 'dragging him down'. And those are are some of the more polite ones. You don't wanna see the ones accusing you of being racist...somehow."

"Eh." Gwen shrugged. She'd given up on the idea of ever pleasing everyone. There were still people who unironically followed Jameson or thought Cap was in on H.Y.D.R.A and just faked Red Skull's death. That wasn't even getting to the Superhero Truthers who argued up and down that Superheroes were just paid actors and that everything from evil Cindy to the Skrull invasion was a government experiment of some kind.

Nevermind the fact that alien spaceships came down on Manhattan and how they couldn't explain just how the government was able to make said alien spaceships if it really was some kind of cover-up.

"Let's get down to business, alright? I promised Aracely I'd take her out," Lana said, "Why'd you call us all over here, Spider-Gwen?"

"Well..." Gwen looked down and frowned. Saying it out loud was just embarrassing, "You were kinda right that I don't really know how to, uh, seduce a guy. So I was kinda hoping you, Cindy and MJ could help me out with it."

"...Should I comment on how sad it is that you're asking someone 4 years younger than you for advice on that or do we just let it hang?" Lana asked flatly.

"Hey if you don't wanna be here then fuck off. This is embarrassing enough as it is," Gwen said, cheeks an annoying shade of red. Yes, she knew exactly how embarrassing this all was, but she didn't have a choice. It was either this or ripping out fingernails.

"Wait, this doesn't make any sense," MJ said, "You've been on dates before, Gwencent. I've seen you flirting with guys too."

"Yeah, but that was when I was Gwen Stacy! If I wanted to chat a guy up I'd go to a club or invite him to one of our concerts or something. I can't do that as Spider-Woman cause fuck if I'm gonna give that asshole a hint of who I am."

"So you need to put on a persona. Seduce him as the Amazing Spider-Woman?" Cindy asked. Gwen nodded, "Hm...makes things a bit more complicated, but it should be possible. You've read your own comic books so play into that."

"You mean that billionaire heiress crock?" Peter scoffed, "Gwen's about as much of that as I'm a priest. No offense, Gwen."

"None taken, honey. You'll just pay for that later." She winked.

"Ugh, could you save that shit for when we're not here?" Lana rolled her eyes, "Cin's right though. If this guy's anything like Tony Stark or Justin Hammer then he's a prick who thinks money buys everything and makes up for their tiny dicks. Having a billionaire model on his arm with superpowers is probably making him hard right now." _That_ wasn't a pleasant image.

"Preferably it would be best if we got a dossier on him. Then we can tweak your persona to his preferences." Cindy put a hand on her chin, "Actually that can come later. I suggest buttering him up slowly. Just slip a few secrets here and there and when I think of a strategy you he'll think it's cause his 'charm' is working on you. That'll make him cocky, and that's when you can start prying secrets."

MJ spoke next, "Uh...I'm not a superspy or anything, but aren't we forgetting something really important here? Gwen's a freaking Superhero! If this guy is really kidnapping people and doing human experiments Nazi style then he's not just going to go confessing to Gwen. More likely he's going to just pretend to be a superhero and the second she starts prying he'll know something's up."

"Please. Pricks like this guy are too confident to think like that." Lana snorted, "What seems more likely, he thinks Spider-Gwen here is some kind of spy or that his dick is so huge and amazing that she'll give up everything to munch on that sausage?"

"Could we please stop talking about dicks and pricks and sausages? I'm trying to focus here." Norah said, still not looking up from her computer. That was the reason she brought her here. Norah knew about manipulating social media more than any of them and if they wanted to sell how legit this thing was then they needed to be sure there wasn't any room for doubt for people to think this was just a temporary split.

"Sorry, Nor." Lana rolled her eyes and smirked.

"Mary does have a point, but it's a risk we'll have to take," Cindy said, "Despite everything no one really knows who the true Spider-Woman is. If you let slip that you feel resentful of being a hero and that you aren't as 'pure' as everyone thinks you are then you can reel him in. Here's one - those two years where you kept being a hero even after you got branded a criminal? Just make some comments about everyone being ungrateful and that the only reason you kept it up was because you wanted to prove them wrong. Makes you look less like a saint."

"I still think this is gonna blow up in our faces..." Mary Jane muttered.

"If Gwen's method doesn't work then we'll go with Pete's." Gwen was about to protest when Cindy cut her off, "This guy is kidnapping people, Gwen. Dozens of families have lost parents and kids because of him. If you can't get this information or he's too slow to give it then we're not going to wait till he takes more victims just because we want the soft gloves. Clear?"

"...Clear." Gwen breathed out deeply.

"Good. Now, here's the big question: are you willing to sleep with this guy?"

The resounding silence was so deep you could hear a pin drop. Norah stopped typing and looked between Gwen and Cindy while everyone else just waited for the blonde's reply. Gwen bit her lower lip and answered shakily, "Um, wh-what?"

"Are you willing to sleep with him?" Cindy repeat, either unaware or uncaring of the way everyone stared at her, "It's not a hard question, Gwen. Yes or no?"

"Um...what?" She said again.

Cindy sighed and crossed one leg over the other in a clear sign of impatience, "Gwen, you are planning to _seduce_ this guy. Now maybe I'm wrong since I haven't read his dossier yet, but generally type A personalities like CEO's don't settle for just kisses; if you even planned to go that far." Her eyes narrowed at the other Spider's last words. The way she said it was a mix of condescending and exasperated.

"What the hell's your damage, Cin?"

"My 'damage' is that you tell me this guy's probably responsible for the case I've spent the better part of a couple of months investigating _and failing to stop_ but your only plan has so many holes I could drive a Death Star through it." Cindy stared up at her steely, "I'm willing to help you here, Gwen, but you can't half-ass this thing and expect touching his arm will get him to confess his secrets. Are you willing to do what it takes, yes or no? Because if not let's cut the knot and go with Pete's idea."

"I..." She looked towards Peter and found him stubbornly looking at the floor with an unreadable expression, though occasional flashes of frustration peeked through. It wasn't like she hadn't acknowledged the possibility of it, but a part of her had just assumed (hoped) that it wouldn't go that far. She wasn't a spy like Cindy and the thought of giving that shiny slimeball anything was...

"Let's just forget about this and-"

"Yes," Gwen said, cutting off Peter's statement, "Just thinking about it wants to make me hurl, but...we need to be sure that the people he's taken can be found."

"How are you so sure this is going to work?" Peter asked. She could tell he didn't want to think about 'what she had to do' anymore than she did.

"I'm not, but how are you so sure tying him to a chair will work any better?" she asked back, "This guy's probably the only chance we'll have to make sure the price on your head's gone and we can get these people out. If he dies you'll have a price on your head for God knows how long and these people are fucked."

"If it was just the bounty then maybe an interrogation would work, but what if we kidnap him and strap him to a chair?" Cindy asked, "You don't think the guys he has working for him won't realize something's up and move? Or just scrub the whole thing down, witnesses included? Guys who perform illegal experiments always have contingencies. It's standard M.O."

"Uh, am I missing something or is all of this completely fucking pointless?" Lana said, "This guy isn't personally kidnapping people, right? So let's just go after the rest of these assholes and make em tell us where they're putting people."

"I already tried to interrogate that Pyro guy," Cindy grimaced, "Said the same thing over and over: just got his info from a dead drop and they were planning to drop off Aracely to another one for pick-up. No names and the location he gave was just an abandoned parking garage. We checked over there and didn't see anything so that trail's cold."

"What about any scientists? They're the ones doing these experiments," Peter asked.

"Unless you're psychic I don't see how that's an option," Cindy put a hand on her chin, "Actually we don't even need an exact location from this guy. If Gwen can get him to spill some names then we can start our search there."

"If you get any names I can help with that." Norah raised her right hand briefly before quickly going back to her typing.

"Huh, maybe Gwen doesn't have to sleep with this guy. Just get him drunk enough and he might spill," MJ said.

"Might be a bit hard. He mentioned yesterday he found it harder to get drunk because of his new powers." Meanwhile she got smashed after three cans of beer. Some people just had all the luck.

"We'll shelve it for now but keep it on hand," Cindy said, "Okay, so first things first you're gonna need to learn how to read tics. I can help with that. Mary Jane and Lana would probably be better if you wanna learn how to..."

The rest of the day was spent with Gwen learning more about flirting than she ever wanted to do with. When to touch, when not to touch, the little gestures to make a guy think she was putty in his hands. Everything. She had to admit some of it was intriguing, but for the most part she found herself almost falling asleep. What the hell was the difference between a half turn look and a full turn look? Apparently it changed _everything_, if you could trust MJ.

That night she and Peter were in bed together and she couldn't sleep. Gwen looked up at the ceiling while Peter slept next to her, her head swirling with all the advice from today's lesson. Tomorrow was the day they'd 'officially' break up. It wouldn't change anything - they could still spent time outside of their masks - but it still made her feel like she had a weight on her chest.

Webster being quiet didn't help matters. Ever since yesterday she hadn't said anything, which Wasp said was expected considering their condition but ut still unnerved her. Gwen was so used to her chiming in, to her partner always being there, that the solitude suddenly felt suffocating even with Peter at her side.

"...You okay, Gwen?" She didn't jump at the sudden voice anymore. She'd gotten used to it.

"Yeah, it's just..." She shifted to her side so she could face him, "All this is kinda going over my head, you know? With Evil Cindy or Red Skull or whatever you could just punch em and let the law sort it out. This...hiding and pretending that I'm in love with this guy because we need the information he has...it's not something I'm used to. And if I fuck up it's your and everyone else's head on the line."

"You don't have to worry about me-"

"Stop saying that." She closed her eyes and balled her hands shakily, "I know the stuff we do everyday is dangerous, but that doesn't mean I have to like you having a price on your head. Trust me, living with dad means I know what it's like to have someone you love with a dangerous life, but that doesn't mean I'd take it lying down if some wannabe kingpin put a price on his head either."

"Yeah..." There silence between them for almost a minute, "I know it must've been difficult seeing that bastard's 'game'-"

"It's not just that." She shook her head and sat up, the blanket falling to her lap to expose her bare chest, "We live dangerous lives. We get shot at by idiots with guns and Supervillains crawl out of whatever hole they come from to 'spell our doom'. Fine. But you...I mean, do I even have to say anything about you hanging out with Murderdock? Or your friend Bullseye coming back from the freaking dead?"

"I didn't exactly want either of those to happen, Gwen..." He sat up too and sighed, "I know this isn't ideal. I wouldn't be spending time with Matt if it wasn't for Bullseye-"

"Why do you keep calling him that?" She asked suddenly, "He's not your friend."

"I didn't say he was."

"Why so friendly with the nickname? What happened to 'Murdock'?"

"His name doesn't matter." She looked to the left slightly and caught the hint of fatigue in his expression, "I could call him a blind bastard, it doesn't change what he is or where he's going." Yeah, straight down to hell. She would've found it more satisfying if the that smug asshole wasn't so damn _happy_ about it. Apparently the idea of getting pitchforks up his ass was funny to him, "You don't have to worry about Matt and Bullseye. I'll deal with them both."

"Mmm." He didn't answer the name thing but didn't bother to say anything. She trusted him.

"...Are you sure about this, Gwen?" he asked softly.

"Fuck no," She laughed, soft and bitter, "Honestly it makes my skin crawl. But...making sure he doesn't have a price on your head and that he's not kidnapping any more people, I think it's worth it. Are you...angry?" It was a stupid question. She was fake breaking up with him to try and play black widow and, if things got really desperate, she might have had to sleep with the guy. Nothing about this would lead him to say anything but yes.

"No." He took a slow breath, "The thought of that bastard putting a hand on you makes my blood boil, but I trust you. It's just..." He grit his teeth, "I just wish I could do something."

"We can't risk those people, Peter. The only way this is going to work is if he doesn't realize we're onto him." Stupid villains with their stupid backup plans. Even Red Skull had his heart wired to a bunch of nuclear salvos, though thankfully Wasp and Cindy managed to disable it. Least Evil Cindy was straightforward.

"The second you you can't take it any more I want you to run, alright? We'll find some other way to help those people and get rid of the price on my head. Promise me."

"I promise."

Gwen kissed him again and pushed him down to the bed, "Again?" She hummed and stuck both his hands above his head with a quick burst of webbing. Super agility and webbing meant experimentation was pretty much inevitable. She kissed him again then flipped up to the wall, taking the blanket with her to expose him completely. She was going to pretend tomorrow wasn't happening.

* * *

**Aholiconic: **So this whole break up thing between Spider-Woman and Spider-Man. Anyone else think it's BS?

**Reply from Ardenex: **I dunno man. They've had their arguments before.

**Reply from Axionsu: **Yeah but it's still hard to believe considering all the kissy faces they make. My guess is it's just a quick argument then they'll just patch it up quickly. Nothing to be bothered with.

**Reply from Number1SpiderManFan: **I hope it's legit. Save some for the rest of us, Spider-Woman!

**Reply from EPFrog: **Well...it's not like every relationship lasts. I guess it makes sense that they broke up at some point.

**No1SpiderWomanFan: **Not gonna hear me complaining.

**Reply from BriefingThin: **Lol I love how SpiderWomans fanboys and fangirls think just cause she's broken up that now they have a chance. Yes because clearly you being nothing special and still living in your mom's basement isn't the reason a Superhero wouldnt give you the time of day. Its all SpiderMans fault. SMH at this stupidity.

**Reply from CooledSlash: **Dude no need to be a dick. Also, respect the hyphen!

* * *

"Are you ready?" Norah's voice chimed in her ear.

"Yeah..." Gwen swung down to the nearby apartment building rooftop and started pacing. The plan was for her and Peter to fake a breakup and for Norah to oh so conveniently record them midway into their fight - the final nail to the proverbial coffin. The other blonde was doing a story (something about building ventilation standards) not too far away and it would give her an alibi if people asked where she got the video.

"You alright?" Norah asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." That was only the first in the big pile of bullshit she'd have to spew today. God, she really missed Webster right now, "Just make sure get this rolling. We only have one shot at this.

Lana had taught her everything she needed to know to stage a convincing break up, _"First things first go for the balls and don't stop squeezing till there's nothing but mush. You want this guy to think things are **over** between you and Pete so go for the cheapshots." _And then a bunch of other stuff that Gwen honestly didn't want to recall cause it involved various euphemisms for castration. That girl was something else.

"Heads up, Ben's on the way."

Peter stopped his bike and zipped up to the rooftop. Gwen took a deep breath and got into character, "You're late..." She crossed her arm and tapped her foot like every impatient ex ever.

"I was busy helping someone. Not sure you remember what that's like from that fancy tower of yours." She winced at the blunt insult. Peter had preemptively apologized beforehand for anything he said and she knew it wasn't his. Norah had dug up the biggest criticisms people had - some legit, most not - and handed them a list to read. He had his and she had her own.

Case in point.

"Helping? Is that what you call it? I thought you were just beating up thugs in the gutters like you always did." She tried her best to make it sound like she was sneering under her mask. Mostly she sounded like she had a stomach ache, "God, a few weeks into the city and you're right back to where you started. I thought a year away would change things for you."

"And I thought you selling out to the Avengers changed you. Turns out I was right." 'Selling out'? She almost broke character then and there to tell him off. That sounded way too unnatural, "Why are you even still here? Come to lord over the people below and grace them with the presence of the oh-so great Spider-Woman?"

The script Norah gave them was basic. Peter would accuse her of being egotistical and up her own ass and she'd accuse him of just being in it to hurt people. According to her this was the most common debate their 'fans' had about them.

"Least I'm helping people. When was the last time you got through a day without killing someone?" She sighed, so loud and dramatic that it was a miracle no one else came up to check, "Look, I wanted to be friends after we broke up but if you're just gonna act like this-"

"Friends? With you?" He clicked his tongue, "Yeah, like I really need another noose around my neck. You were bad enough before, I don't even wanna think about how annoying you'll be now that you're pent-up." Wow...rude. She knew Norah told them to add their own personal flair but still.

"Oh please, you act like you were doing me any favors. Practically had to do everything myself." They were going a bit off-script now. Both Norah and Cindy said it'd be a good idea and that it'd make the argument look more organic, "And do you have any idea how frustrating it is to talk to you? Every time it feels like I'm talking to a wall. Would it kill you to show any emotion besides angsty brooding once in a while?"

"That's rich coming from the woman who won't shut up about how great she is. How's it feel to have Stars and Stripes pulling your strings? Feel better now that you don't have to see what you cause?"

"No, I am not going to get shit on by the guy who ran around with the fucking Punisher and killed a demon mostly by accident!" That was actually somewhat painful to say. Even if he wasn't proud of it his team-ups with Punisher and Bullseye were still a sore spot for her; and, according to Norah's findings, some vocal chunks of New York, "God, do you have any idea how annoying you sound? You're so...so..." She paused. Shit, she forgot her next argument.

"Gwen, you're slipping here. Hurry up." Norah chimed in.

Seeing her hesitation, Peter quickly tried to bail her out, "You trying to spare my feelings or what?" He scoffed, "Why don't you skip to the part where we stop pretending you wanted to be friends? Here, lemme start."

And then he punched her in the face. It wasn't hard...or maybe it was; hard to tell nowadays considering her state. Still, it did the trick. Gwen feigned a slight stumble and then punched him back, making sure to lighten the blow. Peter let himself fall on his back and raised his right hand to his face with a hiss. No blood. Not like last time.

"Guess that makes it clear." He stood up shakily, "You stay the hell away from he, 'hero', and I'll do the same."

"Hey, we're not done here!" She grabbed his wrist and he nodded by just the smallest amount before his fist lashed out and hit her square in the jaw. This was the second part of their plan - make it clear that the break-up wasn't amicable in the least. It'd make Peter's life harder, but it would also help sell the idea to Roxxon that there was no love lost between them.

Peter twisted, kicked her in the chest then disappeared in a wisp of smoke. Gwen made a show of punching the air and trying to web the space around her before letting out a frustrated scream, "Alright, I think we're good." Norah said, "Nice touch on the scream there."

Gwen internally sighed with relief and swung away. Now she just had to wait. Cindy suggested they let Roxxon and the public stew for a couple of days, let them make their own theories so the effects of the break-up would fester. After that Roxxon would come running and she'd be the shoulder for him to cry on. It was so cliche she almost wanted to throw up.

The rest of the day was spent in patrol with her playing the role of the jilted ex. She didn't make any jokes, refused to answer questions when paparazzi (parasites) badgered her and looked for all the world like she hated and Spider-Man had ended any chance of reconciliation.

The sun was long down by the time she stopped to take a breath. Gwen swung up to the top of a high building, only half paying attention to her phone for her daily internet check. Apparently someone had the bright idea to start a PleasePayMe run so he could be a Superhero (only 5 dollars raised so far), but apart from that and the usual gossip about her new relationship troubles there was nothing much to draw her attention.

She was almost tempted to call Peter before a pain in her stomach made her double over in pain. Her phone clattered to the ground and she desperately peeled back the mask just in time to avoid throwing up inside it.

**_'Gwen.'_**

_'Webster? What's going on?'_ And where the hell had she been?

**_'I...believe we are about to give birth. I suggest we go to Wasp. Now.'_**

* * *

**AllNaturalSyntheticFakeOriginal: -embedded link-** Norah Winters from the Front Line just posted up a video on the news blog. Looks like it's legit: **Spider-Woman** and **Spider-Man** aren't friends anymore.

**Reply from KingdomHeartsIsDARKNESSSSS:** Understatement there dude. Damn, they're throwing punches now. Must've been one nasty breakup.

**Reply from Kingoftherealm:** Damn. There goes my Two Spiders domestic fluff fic :/

**Reply from SilverLongPhal:** I'm not surprised. Batwoman and Catman type romances never really go anywhere. She deserves someone better.

**Reply from ArrowstrikesTrue:** As a SpiderHawk shipper this pleases me.

**Reply from Deadllyforceisbestforce:** Meh, I always thought that Spider-Man and Spinerrete would've made a better couple. They always got along whenever they were caught on cam.

**Reply from ASaneMan:** I still think dating other Supers is too stressful. They should date civilians, go with someone who can give them something outside the mask.

**Reply from Aguyplayinggames:** ** ASaneMan** yeah you and about a million of her fans/volunteers. What is with people being so obsessed about celebrity's love lives? Don't you have your own to worry about?

**Reply from AllNaturalSyntheticFakeOriginal: **Helps with the monotony of our meaningless existences. Anyway looks like the shipping war has begun. I wonder what **JJJatHome** has to say about this.

* * *

Back here again.

Peter's face was puckered in a grimace as he walked through the floor of Sattana's nightclub, which was becoming a far more familiar sight than he wanted it to be. Satanna told them all about her plans after they stopped the demons planning to interrupted the Covenant, but back then he'd paid it no mind. Even after she sent him an invitation before he got back to New York he just ignored it. Unlike Ketch and Daimon he saw no need to keep in contact with her.

Now he was walking down here with the devil's new favorite meal tow.

He turned his head to the side to eye Matt. The kingpin-turned-vigilante walked through the club confidently, slipping past the dancing half-breeds and humming a tune under his breath. Both angels and demons eyed him; as something curious to be pitied or disgusted by with the former and like he was the main event dish for the latter. Matt had commented beforehand that his soul was enticing to the damned.

Case in point.

"Back off." He grabbed the hand of the half-breed woman that almost grabbed the redhead's back. She turned to him with a hiss, crimson eyes flaring, "That doesn't scare me." He shoved her off, "Wait till he ain't breathing before you start snacking."

"Not very friendly of you, Peter." Matt hummed in amusement. Peter ignored him and looked around him. More of the half-breeds surrounded them, looking at Matt with pure hunger in their eyes. The more sinful the soul the more delicious the taste - and Matt's soul was dripping with sin, "Hmm, this seems rather familiar." He pulled out the blade from his walking stick while Peter unsheathed his knife. He didn't need Hellfire to kill.

He was about to strike the closest one when a voice rang out, confident and smooth, "Well now, what's all this?"

Mephisto.

The half-breeds shrunk away as the trenchcoated man strode towards them. Peter's grip on the knife tightened briefly before he put it back on its sheath. Fighting against Mephisto wasn't something you did. If he wanted you dead you were dead.

"Mephistopheles. So nice to see you again." Matt grinned.

"And you as well, though technically this is our first meeting. Not unless you count me meeting your owner while you screamed and begged for release." Mephisto's smile only emphasized the unbridled glee in his next words, "Though I expect we'll get to know each other very well soon enough, especially with the way you carry yourself. I'd come up here myself to collect you."

"Is that why you're here...?" Peter asked warily.

"Oh no, I'm just here to relax. Running damnation is a stressful job, you know?" He laughed under his breath and looked Peter straight in the eyes. This time he was afraid, "By the way, I heard your relationship troubles with Spider-Woman. You have my sympathies."

"...Thanks."

"I do hope you're able to work through it. Your kids would've made - will make? - things just a tad more interesting." Peter pursed his lips and didn't say anything. He was baiting him, that's what it was, "Yes, your eldest will follow in her mother's footsteps while the youngest takes a page out of daddy dearest's book. The Ghost Spider and the new Winter Soldier."

"What are you-"

"I'm kidding." He held up both hands and chuckled.

Peter knew better than to push his luck. Hands clenched, he turned and walked to Satanna's office, shoving past the half-breeds still frozen in fear and awe. He wasn't going back here again after this.

"Oh Peter, so nice to-"

"What do you want?" Matt came up behind him and closed the door.

"My my, someone's in a bad mood." Satanna raised a brow and smiled teasingly at him, "Bad breakup?"

"Tell me what you want or I'm leaving right now."

"Touchy! You know I know a succubus brothel that'll-" Peter turned to leave. He didn't get more than two steps before Satanna suddenly appeared in front of him, "Alright, not a good time for jokes, but I do think you're being a bit too ungrateful considering the information I'm offering."

"What, you got something on Roxxon?"'

"Roxxon? Now why would I search anything about him?" She waved a pale hand through the air, "No matter. I'm referring to the one who lured you to a trap."

Sowande.

"I thought you only cared about Bakuto?"

"I do, but your friend Steven came and made a deal. A favor for a favor, you could say. A shame he's so attached to that Moon deity, I would've gladly taken his soul." Peter looked away with a sneer. Damn demons treating souls like coins, "Point is he did me a favor and now I know where he's going to be."

"Where?"

"A building by the name of Midland Circle. Word on the grapevine is that he'll be there for a new investment of some kind." She handed him a photo and he couldn't stop himself from growling. _Lizards_, "Yes, it seems like he managed to get his hands on that little project of yours. Don't you just hate it when the things you don't clean up come back to haunt you?"

"This complicates things slightly," Matt murmured, "If I'm guessing right Sowande's using his mercenaries as guinea pigs. Or guinea lizards in this case."

"All I know is what I've gathered. The rest is up to you boys." Satanna shrugged without a care.

"A favor for a favor, you said. I need some information."

"On Roxxon?"

"Yeah. Apparently he's got a secret lab somewhere. He's kidnapping people who got hit with that damn mist and our only lead doesn't exactly inspire confidence."

"Hmm...I'll see what I can find." She waved him away, "Now, weren't you threatening to storm out?"

"Surprised you're not offering to deal for Matt's soul," Peter said, only half joking.

"Tempting, but Mephisto's called dibs. Apparently he's very interested in making sure he ends up down there."

"How flattering." Matt laughed, "Come then Peter, we should leave before we outstay our welcome."

A few minutes later Peter was sitting at the edge of a building with his face half covered by his mask and a cigarette between his lips. The others were coming and then they could pay back that white suited bastard for leading them to that trap.

"They're on the way." Matt sat beside him covered head to toe in his new Daredevil gear. Peter ignore him and took a long breath of the cigarette, "Hm...a penny for your thoughts?"

Peter didn't say anything.

"Stony silence, hm? It's like the first days of our friendship." Peter almost shoved him off the roof, "Still, I'd like to thank you for your aid earlier."

"I need you alive till my deal with Page pans out."

"Ah yes, your deal to save Mr. Crest from damnation. The deal you still wish to uphold even after what he's doing now." Peter took another drag, "I wonder if your resolve will continue as the days pass. After all, the 'I'm possessed' excuse can only justify so much."

"He's not like you."

"Oh I know. He didn't have a choice." Matt made a deal to bring his mother back. A part of Peter sympathized with that, but another, larger part didn't - couldn't - care. Not after what he did to them, "...Moon Knight and Iron Fist are here."

Peter looked back slightly to see the white and yellow clad figures but made no move to stand. There was still Echo left, "Well now, don't you two look cozy." Lockley grinned and took up Matt's right side while Rand reluctantly sat to Peter's left, "I know you broke up with your girl but damn you move on quick."

"Don't think I'm afraid of breaking your jaw, 'Jake'."

"Hey now, let's not fight..." Danny raised up a hand weakly. It was ironic. He heard enough about that glowing fist of his to know he could smear them all against the walls but the way he acted you wouldn't realize that. He was just like Gwen that way, "Spider-Man just had a break up and-"

"Damn it, could everyone stop bringing that up?" He growled in annoyance. Why the hell was everyone prying into his damn love life? It wasn't exactly a romance for the ages, "None of us are friends here so could we stop pretending this is normal?"

"Not friends? Odd, I heard the bonds made in battle forge the strongest of chains," Grant said.

"Get that out of a book, Grant?" Peter scoffed.

"He kinda does have a point. We do have to learn how to work together if we want to beat the Hand," Danny said, "Stick's warriors are...cold. That's one of the reasons they're losing against the Hand. They're acting like the Hand - treating each other as expendable to the war - but they don't have the numbers to justify it. The five of us working together can do better but only if we know we have each other's backs."

Peter couldn't tell if he pitied Rand's misplaced idealism or he wanted to push him off the building too.

"And besides, we're so similar in a lot of ways." Matt grinned. Peter looked at him flatly then blew smoke in his face, "Well now, there's no need to be rude about it." The redhead coughed and waved away the smoke, "The truth hurts, Peter, but it's always good to confront it. Like our twisted relationships."

"What the hell are you talking about now?"

"You with Miss. Stacy and me with Karen." He hummed and looked ahead, "Miss. Stacy covers it up with honeyed words, but how often has she disregarded what you wanted? The same way Karen won't just let me cut my throat to save us all the trouble Miss. Stacy will do anything to keep you alive to assuage her sense of guilt and because it's 'for your own good'. You do remember begging for her to leave you to your death a year ago, right?"

"After you cut out my eyes and killed Bullseye..."

"It was still your choice and she took that away from you. And of course let's not get into her oveprotectiveness after Arcade's distraction. We both wear their collars, Peter. The only difference is mine is literal."

"...I suggest you stop talking before I decide the deal's not worth it."

"It _is_ rather astounding how unhealthy your relationships are," Steven said, "It's hard to believe that Marc, of all people, is the one who's in a tentatively healthy relationship. Even Daniel had an ill-fated tryst with Teresa two years prior."

"H-Hey!" Danny protested weakly.

"You have my sympathies, Rand," Peter muttered, "And last I checked you weren't much better, Grant. How's Wasp deal with her not-husband having three people crammed into his skull?"

"Four if you count Khonshu." Grant smirked, "It's going about as well as could be expected. She has some hesitation, of course, and Hope is of course rather reluctant to have a father after almost a decade of absence. We're taking it slow."

"And now we're wasting time." Peter sighed and stood up, "Echo's late and I'm tired of waiting. I'm going on ahead, she can catch up."

Matt watched them all leave and waited till all of them were out of sight before pulling out Peter's phone, "You really should be more careful, Peter." It didn't take long for the phone to ring and he answered without a word. That would be Ms. Baumgartner.

"Pete, Pete!? Pete, I- fuck! I need your help! They took Aracely! These...These fuckers with a cloak and fucking light knives just came and took her! I need your help! I need-"

He cut the call and shut the phone off. Wouldn't do for Peter to be distracted, after all. He felt somewhat guilty going back to his old habits, but this time it was Karen pulling the strings. They needed to focus, after all. The last thing they needed was two of their heaviest hitters leaving when Ms. Baumgartner was more than capable of rescuing her friend.

Besides, someone else would come to her rescue.

"You heard that, hm?" He tossed the phone to Echo and she snatched it out the air deftly, "If you wish to leave and aid Ms. Baumgartner then I won't stop you. I know you have a special interest in her friend. The four of us can handle Sowande."

She jumped off the building without another word. Matt chuckled and swung to catch up with the others. Her behavior was hardly surprising. Family always came first, after all.

* * *

**EagleEye: **-**embedded image- **Snagged a pic of **Spider-Man** and the **Defenders** (except **Ninja Lady**) hanging out on a rooftop. It's kinda blurry, but I did my best.

**Reply from GrinderFanatic:** Lol looks like they're trying to cheer him up after his breakup. **#fourbrosonaroof**

**Reply from AThreesomeis:** Anyone else think it's sad that Spider-Woman was sulking alone all day while Spider-Man has buddies to cheer him up?

**Reply from Shamelessandlovingit:** It's lonely at the top. Anyway, on to the important bit: look at their bods! Those are goals right there!

**Reply from Tehehe:** Yeah, as much as I like the Avengers they're seriously lacking in man meat. I've seen some of the videos of the Defenders. If it wasn't for the brutal maiming I could watch them ALL day long :P

**Reply from AThreesomeis:** Dude we don't even know what they look like! Except for Spider-Man and he wasn't much a looker.

**Reply from Tehehe:** Last time we saw Spidey's face the Jack-o-Lantern fucked him up. You try looking good like that. Anyway, with bods like that who cares how they look like? I'd want em to keep the mask on anyways.

**Reply from Shamelessandlovingit: **Big agreement there. Ninja lady is _so_ lucky...

* * *

**I was gonna show Aracely's kidnapping this chapter but I ran out of space. I'll show it in the next one. ****So we've got a three way split of plots right now - Gwen giving birth to her symbiote baby, da bois taking down Sowande, and Lana (plus Echo) dealing with Aracely being kidnapped by Cloak and Dagger. Which means more fight scenes. Why do I do this to myself?**

**Questions:**

**1\. Do you guys want more segments with the 4 male Defenders awkwardly hanging out or just leave it to this? Some readers are complaining about Peter not having any male friends.**

**2\. Curious, but do you guys think that Peter and Gwen are healthy for one another or do you at least partly agree with Matt that it's imbalanced? I'd argue he's making false equivalency since Gwen's not nearly as controlling as Karen.**

**3\. Are there any V1 characters you guys want to come back and/or get focus on again? I've gotten some comments for Teresa, though I'm aware a large chunk of the readers hate her for her behavior. **

**Review Answers:**

**Spidergwen - Have to disagree. Peter and Gwen get equal at worst screentime to MJ. If anyone's shafted for screentime it's Lana.**

**Titan616 - Most people don't really think about the afterlife since they focus on the here and now. Unless you're a hardcore religious person the afterlife is something stored at the back of your mind so Dan wouldn't care. As for MJ, Matt does comment on her morality and soul later on during their interactions.**

**And yes, Gwen gets drunk. She gets drunk very easily in fact. The others can hold their booze better.**

**The Red Ghost22 - Yeah, Peter and Gwen can be unhealthy for one another, but that's what you guys wanted and I'm sticking to it. Also, Peter/Lana wouldn't work for the same reason as Peter/Cindy - the older one considers the younger one like a little brother/sister.**

**Guest - Maybe. Still gathering ideas.**

**swilliamsxn - ? **

**Noisy-Cricket - Yeah I know what you mean, if you know what I mean. Anyway, baby's coming :) As for the MCU deal, like I said above I'm waiting and seeing.**

**Crieger - Cockblock how? Only Gwen's dating someone. The rest of em are free. **


	26. Kids, kids, kids

**Another chapter full of fighting. Probably be the last for a while given the events that take place in it, so good for me. Mock exams are coming up in a couple of days so I thought I'd bash this out before then. **

**The end of the chapter'll probably feel like jumping the shark, but don't worry, it's temporary. I'll fix it soon enough. **

**BTW, I'm putting up another poll for who should be the new symbiote host just to make absolutely sure. Check it out. **

**Side Note - Anyone wanna talk about the fic or Spider-Man/Spider-Gwen in general? Hit me up on Discord :) My username is DragonAge123 #2030**

* * *

**What-are-we - **Maybe a bit too soon, but who do you guys think is right between **Spider-Man **and **Spider-Woman**?

**Reply from WereMuggers - **Spider-Woman def. Spider-Man is a killer vigilante, plain and simple. Surprised it took her this long to drop him.

**Reply from AndWhatDoWeDo - **But he's also got a point. Ever since she signed on with the Avengers Spider-Woman hasn't been patrolling as much. Hate the guy if you want, but he's out there every night fighting crims and demons.

**Reply from Wemugpeople** \- Didn't she say she was going to uni? That's pretty important too. Besides, Initiative members pick up the slack.

**Reply from SoletsgoMUGEMMMM - **still kinda feels like she's gotten too big.

**Reply from HRAAAHHHH - **She's a Superhero, not an indie rock band. The Avengers are a good thing, end of story. Spider-Man's talking out of his ass.

**Reply from IdontunderstandtherewereTWOofus - **Am I the only one just laughing at her comment about him sucking in bed? Guess all those rumors about bedding supermodels were BS.

* * *

Someone was going to die tonight.

Lana picked herself up from the ground and glared murderously into empty air. Those bastards took Aracely and she was gonna fucking _kill_ them, "Tt..." She clicked her tongue and pulled the shiny knife dagger thing off her chest. It didn't hurt, not exactly. Lightboy looked real fucking surprised she didn't fall on her ass when he hit her with it. Guess she could thank her new upgrades for that.

But of fucking course she couldn't stop him and darkbitch from taking Aracely.

The knife suddenly disappeared from her hand and she grimaced, "So much for that clue..." She sighed and looked around her. The place was mostly undamaged except for the food truck lightboy smashed her into when he threw those knives into her chest. Good as place as any to ask. She walked towards the grieving man and tapped him on the shoulder, "Hey, you see where those two went?"

Nothing, just crying.

"...You do know that the faster I leave the faster you can get your Initiative insurance, right?" Money talked and she'd already heard stories of Initiative members being bought out for insurance scams. That got em into a lot of trouble when they got caught. Tony Stark did not like being made a fool of, "Look, I just need you to point me in the right direction, that's all."

He finally stopped crying long enough to point her to the right; straight ahead to Hell's Kitchen. Of fucking course they'd be from there. Felt like everything wrong in this damn city came from Murdock's toilet.

She called everyone she could as she followed the breadcrumb trail like Hansel and Gretel. Pete didn't say anything (she'd give him a piece of her mind later), Stacy was apparently giving birth so that's where she and Mary were and Cindy's phone was off, so she was probably following a lead or getting fucked. Or both. She growled and call her again.

"Come on, come on, pick up!" She was getting closer, she could feel it.

"Hey Lana-"

"Aracely's been kidnapped. Same guys who took glowboy from you. No time to explain. Just follow the GPS and get your ass over here!" She cut the call and and stopped at the next intersection, "Hey, anybody see a chick with a cloak and a guy dressed like an ice princess go through here?" she shouted. No one responded, though a few of them did stop to take selfies. Dicks, "Hey, knock it off! I need-"

Someone tapped her on the shoulder. The brunette teen spun around with a fist raised and scowled when she saw Peter's new ninja friend, "Fuck do you want?" She didn't say anything and nudged her head to the side with a soft grunt. Lana resisted the the urge to punch her in the face; it wasn't her fault Aracely was kidnapped, even if she was being fucking annoying right now, "Look, whatever the fuck you want I'm busy so go bother someone else."

She tried to push past and ninja bitch blocked her. Before Lana could lose her temper though she threw a phone Lana's way, which she barely caught, "...This is Pete's phone." No password lock either. She really needed to do something about that. She'd change it to her birthday or something, "Why do you have this? Did Pete send you?"

Again she just grunted and nudged her head to the side, "You...want me to follow you? You'll take me to my friend?" This time she got a nod. A part of Lana was screaming _'it's a trap!'_ and to tell ninja bitch to fuck off, but eventually she nodded and followed after her. If Pete trusted her then she would too, even if this entire thing was weird. Couldn't trust someone she couldn't hear or read.

The rest of the short lived trip was quiet and soon enough Echo (dumb name) stopped in front of..._another_ fucking church. Christ, what was with this place and abandoned churches? Did Murdock's old buddy just like the idea of churches being ruined in his playground? "I hate churches..." she muttered. She'd never been the religious type. Most people in the Kitchen weren't, and that was before they found out a literal demon was playing Kingpin. That either vindicated a lot of people or they decided it was time to turn to God. She was mostly the former.

Echo stopped and traced the dull brown door while Lana checked her phone. According to Cindy was on her way, "Maybe we should-" Echo kicked down the door and charged in, sword drawn, "Or you could fucking ignore me. That works too." She sighed and chased after her, her whole body sparkling with energy. Those two assholes were dead the second she saw them.

The inside of the place looked like something out of a cheap horror flick. It was even more decrepit than Maggie's place and the smell of mold in the air made her eyes water. Echo stopped and eyed the shadows warily, "See something?" Lana clenched her fists and focused on every creak and crack. She didn't have the fancy spidey sense Pete, Cin and Spider-Gwen had.

Which made her getting punched in the face by darkbitch both expected and really fucking annoying.

Lana flew through the air from the force of the impact and skidded along the ground by her feet, "Asshole!" She shot a blast of energy towards the blond shadow. Darkbitch disappeared then re-appeared right in front of her, "Fuck off!" Lana caught her fist and headbutted her. Darkbitch stumbled back then disappeared just before Lana's next punch could connect.

Great, she was one of _those_ types.

Not too far off Echo was dodging lightboy's knives. Echo flipped back sideways and deflected the last thrown knife with her sword as she landed. Lana had to admit, it was pretty impressive looking.

She aimed for lightboy only for darkbitch to appear in front of her again, "Don't touch him!" Lana boosted back to avoid the sweeping hit and shot her again. Darkbitch disappeared again and appeared behind her, "Son of a-" She'd barely turned around before a punch across the face sent her reeling. Even with her new upgrades she knew she'd feel that in the morning.

Behind her Echo deflected two more knives and grabbed the other before it could hit and tossed it straight to darkbitch's chest. The blonde shadow hissed and stumbled back, which allowed Lana to charge ahead and tackle her to the ground, one hand holding to the neck of the cloak and the other raised for a downward punch, "Where's Aracely?!" she screamed, practically frothing at the mouth.

"Just leave us alone! We're trying to save her!" Darkbitch screeched, struggling harder than before.

Lana almost smashed her fist down till she felt the sudden chill that ran down her entire body, "What the...?" Darkbitch was gone- scratch that, _everything_ was gone. Lana looked around frantically and her breathing quickened when she saw the nothing around her. No darkbitch, no lightboy, no Echo..._nothing_. Nothing but shadows that stretched out as far as she could see.

"Not again..." She couldn't stop the hint of fear at the end. This was just like when she'd gone to that damned haunted house to get that fucking silver, "Hey!" She aimed ahead and shot, but nothing came, "Come on..." Another shot, another mocking fizzle. Lana tried to run and only managed a few steps before the chill worsened and it became harder and harder to move.

Eventually she stopped and fell on her knees. It was getting harder to keep her eyes open and even breathing was something she had to force, "Come on..." She tried to gather up one last burst of energy. Her right hand shone briefly then completely faded.

Lana fell on her side and shut her eyes. She was absolutely freezing now and the temptation to lull off into sleep was getting stronger, "Dagger...stop!" The voices were so distant. It really was just like that damn barn. Was she going to be useless again, just waiting for someone else to save her? "She doesn't know, she's not one of them! Come on, we have to focus on the girl."

Aracely. They were going to take Aracely if she didn't _do_ something.

Lana's eyes snapped open, energy covering eyes and blocking her irises from view, "Wait, something's-" Darkbitch's panicked shout was drowned out by Lana's own primal scream. Energy surged through her entire body and expelled outwards in a deafening explosion. The shadows were stripped away and Lana fell on her hands and knees again, her breaths coming out in ragged gasps. In front of her was darkbitch, curled up pathetically with her cloak shredded next to her.

Lana charged and kicked her in the face, "Dagger!" Lightboy turned away from Echo. Big mistake. The ninja stabbed him clean through the leg with a knife, grappled him the floor and pinned him down with a knife to the neck.

Lana paid them no mind.

"Get up!" She kicked her in the face again. This time she knocked off teeth and darkbitch coughed out blood, "Not so tough without that fucking cloak, huh?!"The next kick hit her in the gut and she tried desperately to reach for the tattered remains of the cloak.

"Please, she'll die if she doesn't-" Lightboy's whining stopped when Echo pressed the sword harder. She didn't know why she didn't just slit his throat, "Please...we were just trying to help."

Lana ignored him and grabbed the blonde by the scruff of her neck. Her was was bloody and beaten and Lana felt absolutely no pity, "Where's my friend...?" Energy pulsed through her right hand and she pressed it against the bloody cheek, "Talk or I blow your fucking head off!"

"She can't talk like that! Please, just-"

"Shut up!" Lana shouted. She completely ignored the reverb in her voice, "This bitch just tried to kill me and I'm this fucking close to blowing your head open too, asshole!"

"Alright, fine, she's-"

"Lana!" Lana's head snapped to the side just in time to see Aracely charge towards her and tackle her off the whimpering blonde. Before she could shove her off the younger girl continued in a rush, "Please don't hurt them! They are trying to help me!"

Lana grabbed her shoulders and shoved her gently so she could stand, "What the fuck are you talking about?" Darkbitch crawled for her cloak again. Lana almost blasted her but Aracely stood in her way, "Move, Aracely!"

"No! Please listen to me!" She looked at each of them with a pleading look, "It is...hard to explain, but none of you are enemies. Please let us talk about this."

"Talk? Oh, is that what they call dropping in out of fucking nowhere and _kidnapping_ you? Guess lightboy stabbing me in the fucking chest with those knives of his was just his way of saying hello, huh?"

"You wouldn't have believed us! No one ever-"

"I don't fucking care what you-"

"_STOP!_" Aracely's yell nearly forced her to the ground again. It was like she'd screamed right into her head, "They were trying to help, Lana, but they did it the wrong way. You can be mad, but we have to talk. _Please_."

"...Fine." Echo stood without another word and roughly pulled out the dagger from lightboy's leg, making him cry out in pain. She hoped it'd sting. Meanwhile Lightbitch managed to put on whatever remained of her cloak and was covered in shadow's again, "...I'm watching you. One fucking move and I blow your head off." Lana glared down at her.

"Noted..." Her voice was weak. Lightboy immediately knelt by her side and hugged her. It would've been sweet if they hadn't just tried to fucking kill her.

"They weren't trying to kill you," Aracely said. God, she hated that mind reading thing, "Tandi's powers...she has a hard time controlling them sometimes ever since she and Tyrone changed. She got angry and desperate. She was going to let you out once you fell unconscious."

"Oh yeah, how fucking convenient," Lana spat, "And how the hell do you know all this?"

"Their thoughts. So chaotic, but the thought of that - of helping and the things they've suffered - are always at the front. They've seen people like me being taken. They were taken themselves. They want to help people not suffer like they have.

"And the best way they can do that is by kidnapping them? Gee, that doesn't sound like bullshit at all." Lana rolled her eyes.

"What were our options?" Darkbitch - cause she wasn't going to call her Tandi like they were fucking friends - muttered, "'Hey, you're about to be kidnapped, experimented on and killed. Leave your life behind and come with us'." She looked down at the floor, "We tried doing it the nice way. No one believed us, and each time they were taken. We couldn't save them and they died."

"Cry me a fucking river." Lana sneered, "It's funny, I'm not feeling very sorry for you two after the shit you pulled."

"We don't expect you to. We've made our choices," Lightboy said.

Lana took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of her nose. It didn't help much, "Alright, assholes, I'll play: why Aracely?"

"Because she'll be taken too." Lightbitch looked up at her with a steely gaze. The bruises dampened the effect, "You've been taking her around town, going on ballgames like there's nothing wrong. If we could find her don't you think the people who want her can do the same?"

"Let em come. You think it's the first time I've dealt with pricks like this?"

"It's not you we're worried about. You can protect yourself; that's why we didn't try to take _you_. But you can't be there for her every hour of the day. At some point you'll slip up and she'll be taken just like the rest."

"We were going to take her out of town. It's not ideal, but a life on the run is better than staying here and being a target," Lightboy said.

"Oh gimme a fucking break. You honestly think you're the heroes here? Kidnapping people and dumping them outside of the city with a 100 bucks and a pat on the back? You didn't think maybe _explaining_ what the fuck is going on would help? Hey here's an idea, maybe go to the cops or the Initiative? See if they'll help?"

"You don't think the people who took us have their people there too?" Lightboy shook his head, "Whoever these guys are they have money. We tried running to the cops first, back when our powers were first switched and we couldn't defend ourseleves, and they beat us and nearly took us back. No, we can't trust anyone. Even 'heroes' can be tempted by money."

"Oh for fuck's-" Lana took a moment to breath because she was going to fucking scream at them otherwise, "I'm not the biggest fan of the cops either, but even I know not all of them are cartoon villains!"

"We didn't say all of them were. It doesn't change the fact that we don't know who we can trust," Lightboy said.

"Well, I know one." Lana looked back and heaved a sigh of relief when Cindy went through the door, half her face hidden by her scarf. Good, she was tired of dealing with these two, "Normally I'd place you under arrest for all the crap you've pulled, but if I'm right then the bastard who took you is the same one we're searching for now."

"W-We don't know where they are," Lightbitch muttered, "It was...we were in a forest outside of New York. The only reason we knew to come here was because one of the scientists mentioned this was where they took their...'subjects'." She shuddered at that. Lana almost felt sorry for her. Maybe. Kinda. Okay not really, she could go suck an egg.

"You must know something," Cindy said, "Either way you're both not going anywhere, not after the stunts you pulled."

"Please don't hurt them," Aracely said, moving to stand in front of the pair, "They were just trying to help. Please understand."

"I know what they were intending, but what they've done is another thing entirely." Cindy's expression softened at Aracely's pleading look, "I'm not going to hurt them. I know what it's like to be caught and hit with scalpels."

"Yes...you do." Aracely nodded slowly and turned back to the pair, "Please trust her. She will make sure you aren't taken again."

"Right..." Lightbitch nodded and looked to Lana, "I...I'm sorry for-"

"Shove it up your ass. Just cause Aracely trusts you doesn't mean I do." Lana walked away and sat at the one remaining pew that was miraculously still standing. Aracely looked between her and the wonder twins before reluctantly following after. Cindy was talking to them now and Echo was fucking gone. Lana didn't know or care where she went.

"Lana-"

"...Did they hurt you?" She looked her up and down. Nothing, not a scratch on her. Good news for those two.

"No, no. They just wanted to help." Lana snorted, "I can hear how angry you are. Please don't be mad at them."

"She sucked me into some kind of dark dimension! Funny enough I have issues with that kind of thing." Especially after last year. She still had nightmares sometimes. She didn't tell Pete; nightmares were something she knew she'd have to deal with so no use crying about it, "And let's not forget lightboy stabbing me in the chest and slamming me into that food truck. I'm not in a very forgiving mood."

"I understand." Aracely frowned but nodded all the same, "Thank you for coming for me."

"You had any doubts?" For the first time Lana smiled, though it was weak and crooked.

"No, I knew you would come for me." Aracely smiled back, "Who was your friend?"

"Echo, I think. Dunno why she came. Thought your mind reader bs would help you figure that out."

"No. I cannot read her mind like I cannot read Spider-Man's." She couldn't read Pete? Weird, "With Spider-Man his thoughts come out like a jumble. Like someone screaming gibberish at the top of their lungs. With her she...it's like dipping your face into cold water. I can't hear her thoughts, and all that comes out is quiet. It's...creepy."

"Says the mind reader." Lana rolled her eyes, "It doesn't matter why she did it. She helped out and you're safe now. Speaking of, we gotta get you your own place. Sneaking you out of the dorm's a pain in the ass. Hmm..." Lana put a hand on her chin, "I heard Hawkeye owns an apartment building. We could probably get you a room for a while there. What safer place than the one an Avenger owns, right?"

"...Why are you being so nice to me?"

"Huh?"

"You saved me already and now you're helping me again. Why?"

"Do I need a reason?" She asked back, "Let's not make this awkward, okay? We're friends and I don't like to see you get hurt. Maybe I could be helping other people instead - keyboard warriors love whining about starving kids in Africa from their parent's condos - but I'm only human. I can help you so I can, so quit trying to read into things. Which I know sounds really weird since you're a mind reader, but hey."

"Okay...thank you."

"You're welcome. Now, let's go find you a new place."

They walked out of the ruined church side by side. Aracely stopped and looked back to the roof. The woman in the patchwork costume looked down at her silently, "...Thank you." She nodded and jumped down on the other side, disappearing from sight.

Up ahead, Lana looked down at the energy pulsing through her hands before shaking off her doubts. She saved Aracely, that was all that mattered.

* * *

**GregTheGarlicFarmer -** So now that the Spider couple are broken up who do you think they'll end up with?

**Reply from MorninNiceDayforFISHINaintit -** Spider-Man and Spinerette defo. These guys have insane chemistry during team ups and she always talks about how she trusts him. Surprised they hadn't gotten together soon.

**Reply from Hu-hu -** Spider-Woman I'm guessing either Hawkeye or another Initiative Hero. Maybe Scarlet Spider?

**Reply from BreastPlate - **Dude these are real life people, not fictional characters. You guys know that, right?

**Reply from MorninNiceDayforFISHINaintit **\- Just having fun. Sides dont' tell me your not curious about it?

**Reply from BreastPlate - **Nah man. What they do on their business their business.

**Reply from Hu-hu - **Hmm, anyone else think maybe Spider-Woman and Striker.

**Reply from StrikerNotBombshell - **For the last time you assholes, I'm not fucking gay and neither is Cindy. Write fanfics as much as you want but no amount of having Cin call people Senpai's gonna make it real.

* * *

Marc drove the cestus into the Lizard's jaw and looked back, "Iron Fist, duck!" The martial artist quickly dodged the blow and took down the overgrown reptile with a few precise strikes to its midsection. Not too far away Peter and Matthew worked together to take down a particularly large member of the pack, the former holding it down with a net of webbing while the latter bludgeoned its face with his escrima sticks. Despite their past enmity it seemed they worked well in tandem,

_'Come on, Marc, lemme out! I'm bored!' _Jake said. Steven simply sighed and watched in utter boredom,_ 'You know this is my specialty!'_

_'Quiet.' _He took down another Lizard and sliced its neck. He felt not guilt for this. These weren't the innocent victims Harry Osborn and Cindy Moon had taken. They were mercenaries all too willing to give up everything that made them human for the sake of a payday.

_'Sounds familiar, doesn't it?'_ Steven hummed,_ 'A long time ago we would've been one of them.'_

_'Now is not the time to dwell on past actions.' _He had not told the others but he did know of Sowande before. Bushman and he had worked for him in the past, just one of hundreds of soldiers of fortune. He doubted Sowande even knew him now or if he'd even care if he did. He was just another one to step over, the same way the Hand treated their fellow man.

Marc put down the final Lizard and wiped the blood from the cestus. The resistance was crude at best, and he could only assume that Sowande had more up his sleeves than a few reptiles, "The rest of the building is abandoned," Matthew said, "No civilians, no one but Sowande and his mercenaries. I can't imagine he's doing this for our sake."

"We must've caught them at a bad time," Peter said.

"Either way it's good news for us. Don't have to worry about them taking hostages, right?" Daniel asked. He always looked to the bright side of things, "Anyway, we should go get him now before things get worse." He pointed to the door that led to the main hall. Midland's architecture was confusing and he expected there to be a ballroom on the other side of the entrance given their previous experiences.

"Charging in won't help." Matt tapped the walls with the end of his stick, "I sense people above us and to the sides as well. If we charge in ahead then it won't be long before we're lured into a killspot. I suggest either tackling the sentries one by one or splitting up and dealing with them separately to avoid giving any group the chance to prepare or recuperate."

"The latter seems most prudent." Marc nodded, "I shall deal with Sowande. The rest of you decide on your own. We shall rendezvous separately." He turned and walked to the large double doors before any of them could contest. Truthfully he preferred it this way. While he could...appreciate the benefits of teamwork he'd spent the better part of a decade working alone. It was still odd having more than just Steven and Jake for company.

_'We know you love us.'_

_'Don't think he has much choice on that, Steven.'_

Marc tapped his gauntlet and the drone he'd planted earlier whirred to life. Machinery made for far more dependable - and predictable - allies, _'Yeah, but what's the fun in that?'_ Jake leaned against the wall and smirked,_ 'You gonna let me have some fun now?'_

_'Yes'_

_'Oh hell yes! My time on the controls!' _Jake chuckled and grabbed two grenades, one in each hand, "Heeerrreee's Jakey!" Jake pulled the pins on both with his teeth and kicked the door down. The men on the other side started shooting only to hit the shield the drone put up. Jake tossed both grenades past it and grinned when the walls were splattered with blood.

"I'm right here, assholes!" He used the drone as a stepping stone and jumped up, blades jutting out of his gauntlets. Poor bastards barely had time to aim up before he landed and cut their necks, "Hahahaha!" He grabbed the rifle and riot shield on the floor and charged ahead. Been so long since he could cut loose like this, especially since Waspy and his kid got back with Marc. He liked em just fine, but damn they made him soft.

_'Be careful, Jake.'_

_'Screw off, Marc. I'm having fun!' _He primed another grenade and tossed it just as the door opened. Jake grinned when he saw their eyes widened just long enough to realize how screwed they were, "Kaboom!" He spat out blood and grinned as he dropped the spent gun and dented shield, "Betcha ol' Waspy never let you have this much fun, huh?"

_'Alright, I think you've had enough fun.'_ Steven put a hand on his shoulder, _'My turn.'_

_'Aw, come on! It's barely been a minute!'_

_'This next one calls for a more delicate touch.' _Jake grumbled but acquiesced control all the same. Steven picked out a smoke grenade and looked back to the shot-up drone, "This is turning into a rather expensive outing. We'll need to build up our funds again after this."

_'What's the point? We can just as Marc's Sugar Mama for money.'_

_'Don't call her that.'_

_'Bite me, Marcy.'_

_'Let's save this for another_ time.' Steven tossed a portable camera forward so it stuck to the ceiling and tapped the side of his mask, _'Area's wide open. Not much cover either for them or us. We'll need to to this quickly.' _There were a few tables but apart from that the area was open and spacious. He counted easily two dozen men with Sowande at the center like the king on a chessboard.

_'Who cares, just kill em all and let's get this over with.' _Jake groused.

_'Patience is a virtue.' _He tapped the gauntlet and put the drone to bomb mode. That'd cost them later, _'Hope this is a good investment.' _He tossed the smoke grenade past the doorway and made the drone surge forward. As expected the men inside immediately fired on it and Steven had to brace himself at the explosion that rocked the entire building. For anyone else it would've been excessive, but not for the Hand.

He tapped his cowl again to activate heat vision and charged into the room. The entire area was covered in a thick sheet of smoke and the few mercenaries that weren't killed or dazed couldn't see him.

Steven slammed the first one against the ground and snapped his neck. Another mercenary blindly fired in his direction and he tossed a moonblade that cleaved through his skull, _'Knew those were a good deal!'_ Jake cheered. Steven grappled up to the wall and scanned over the area again. Sowande was nowhere to be seen and the smoke was beginning to dissipate. He didn't have much time left.

He flew down by his cape another lone sentry and smashed his head down into the ground. Three more, and they fell just as easily. Steven snapped the last one's neck and looked around as the smoke finally dissipated, _'Did Sowande run?' _Marc asked.

Steven was about to reply till a sudden pressure on his back forced him on his knees,_ 'Hey, what the hell? Get up!' _Jake screamed. Steven tried to do just that but his body refused to cooperate.

"I would not bother struggling." Sowande walked ahead of him, his accented voice smooth and calm despite the scene of carnage around them, "Your body will not move no matter how much you will it."

_'He hit a pressure point. I can heal the damage but you must keep him distracted,'_ Marc said.

_'Easier said than done.' _Steven looked up at the ancient man and grimaced. He looked like someone you'd see on Wall Street - neatly pressed white suit, expensive leather shoes and even a gold, amiran watch. The same way Murakami craved power others in the hand craved more material pleasures.

"Nothing to say?" He taunted.

"Why stay out here alone? Where's the rest of your buddies?" He could move his fingers now, but only slightly, "I know how you all work. There must be a reason that you're out here by yourself and it's not because you wanna spare them. They're up to something."

"I could ask you the same." He crouched in front of him and tore the mask off his face. He wasn't worried about being recognized - putting another face for his nightly excursions was standard habit, "You came in as a group and yet here you kneel, alone and helpless. Did you think I would be so easy to fall to you alone? You're a child, and that false deity you worship will not save you."

"He doesn't have to. You kill me and I come back. Can't say the same for you anymore."

His eyes twitched. Interesting, "Perhaps not, but the Hand will survive."

"Maybe, but you won't."

The tapped the lowest button on the gauntlet and shut his eyes. The machine exploded with a bright white, blinding light and Sowande screamed in both shock and pain as he stumbled back, hands covering both eyes. Steven grabbed him by the neck and and pressed his last moon blade against his neck.

_'Kill him and let's get out of here already!'_ Jake screamed.

"Finish it." Sowande glared up at him defiantly.

_'...Hold, something is wrong.'_ Marc grabbed his wrist,_ 'There's nothing the Hand fear more than the thought of death. His calmness makes no sense.'_

_'What are you talking about?' _Jake asked impatiently.

_'He means that killing him will just play into what they're planning.' _

Steven relinquished control back to Marc. Marc looked down at the grinning Finger and punched him in the face to knock him unconscious, "We need to bring him back." Interrogating him would be difficult, but they had little choice. Better than playing into his plans. He put on his mask again and tapped the side to call the others, "I've taken down Sowande. Regroup at the agreed upon spot."

No response. Not good.

* * *

"What the hell is that?" Peter crouched next to Matt and Rand and looked down at the chamber below. Matt had been the one to find the elevator hidden behind the wall and suggested they investigate. Moon Knight could handle Sowande alone, he said, and he hated the thought of leaving the Hand some kind of advantage because they refused to investigated.

Seeing the thing down there was giving him second thoughts.

The elevator took them to some tunnels that led to a large circular chamber with makeshift stairs leading down below. Dozens of Hand ninjas were convened together, all of them kneeling down with blades on their laps. High above them standing front of another hole was something that he could only describe as monstrous. It was a woman, her skin so deathly pale that it only made the dark purple outfit she wore all the more noticeable.

Still, at all paled in comparison to her face. Her features were obviously inhuman with pale yellow eyes and fangs along with an elongated forehead at least twice the size of the rest of her face. Her long, red hair floated behind her as she preached.

"That's Lilith..." Rand said. He sounded scared, "You'll hear stories about her. Mother of all Vampires, the whore of babylon...I don't know much but it's enough to get a figure on what she's like."

"No religious studies in K'un-Lun, hm?" Matt chucked under his breath, "Well, it's probably for the best. The scriptures make out the demons to be infallible, eternal constructs. I believe Peter's proven that to be false."

"Yeah, and it only took us almost an entire year to find that one weakpoint." Peter's hold on his guns tightened, "I don't have my Hellfire knife." Or anything else that he could use to make sure she didn't get those fangs near his neck. Damn he hated Vampires.

"Then I suppose Daniel will have to be our trump card," Matt said.

"No pressure or anything," The Immortal Iron Fist (someone had a big head) said, "Any idea what they're doing down there?"

"I believe it speaks for itself." Matt gestured down just as one of the ninjas rose and walked towards the Vampire. She'd gone quiet now, her preaching replaced by the droning of the assembled mob. Peter watched through narrowed eyes as the ninja made a small cut on his neck and Lililth immediately surged forward, biting his neck like a rabid dog. Blood fell down in droves until eventually she pulled back, cut open his stomach and bled him over the hole she stood in front of.

"What the hell...?"

"Blood." Matt sniffed the air and grinned, "Gallons of it in that hole from willing sacrifices. The Beast had similar habits in the past."

"I'm guessing they're trying to copy what your old pal did?" Peter asked.

"Most likely, though now they're using Lilith instead. Exchanging one primordial demon for another; you'd think they would learn by now. Thankfully Lilith isn't nearly as troublesome as my former 'pal', to use your term. The majority of her abilities come from the blessings she gives her coven rather than individual power. She's more archaic in that manner."

"So are we doing this or what?" Rand asked somewhat anxiously.

"Sooner the better. Me and Matt'll deal with the ninjas, you deal with the Vampire Queen."

They all nodded at one another and jumped. Peter shot as many as he could before they landed and charged towards the largest cluster, "Iron Fist, go!" He webbed down four of the now-aware ninjas while Matt dealt with those on his side. Iron Fist ran through the gap they made, fist already glowing yellow.

"**Fools.**" Peter almost froze at the sound of her voice. It was different from before: deep, guttural and echoing like legion. Time seemed to slow as Rand jumped and struck a blow straight to her face. It was scant inches from making contact when she suddenly dissipated, leaving nothing but the smallest wisps of smoke.

"What the-"

**"Did you think me so simple to kill?" **He turned around and slashed just before she disappeared again. He growled and disappeared into smoke, **"Foolish child. You hide in the darkness like a mouse, fearing the gaze of the hunter. The shadows might bend to you but _I_ command them." **

_'And I thought Gwen's fans were dramatic...'_ His spider-sense blared and he ducked to the side to avoid the blast of green energy, _'Energy blasts? Don't remember reading that in Dracula.'_ He dodged another beam and turned his attention briefly to the ninjas attacking Rand. He sliced their necks clean open and Rand incapcitated the last three just as quickly.

Everything was suddenly cloaked in darkness. Peter looked around warily and lowered into a crouch next to Rand. He could still see, but he couldn't say the same for the Immortal Iron Fist, "I assume by your postures that something's changed?" Matt called out lightly, seemingly ignorant of the Vampire that teleported behind him. Peter opened his mouth to scream a warning when he suddenly lashed out and threw his billy club behind him.

The red stick made contact with Lilith's jaw and she stumbled back. Matt's grin was short lived when she looked back at him and hissed, her face twisting to look even more inhuman,** "The time for games is over. I will not be made a fool of by the Beast's castoff!"**

She disappeared and re-appeared next to Matt. This time he didn't get a chance to defend himself before she slashed clear across his back and disappeared. She did it again and again and again for all three of them. Peter shot and webbed as fast as he could but only managed to hit air. By the fifth slash he began to feel lightheaded and could barely focus on covering Rand.

They needed to hold her down somehow.

_'...I'm going to hate myself for this.'_

He made a show of falling at her next slash and she pounced like a starving dog. Lilith pulled his neck back and bit down hard. Peter grit his teeth to keep from screaming, **'Sleep, child. You belong to me now. Become one of my children and feed me.' **Rand was recovering and his fist lit up, **'Obey me, spider. Renounce your false god and worship _me!'_**

"Go...to hell!" He webbed her feet and slammed his head back just before Rand shot his hand out and hit the parasite with a yellow wave of energy. Immediately the darkness receded and he saw just how close Rand was to the edge of the hole. He was swaying in place, tired from both the blood loss and the last attack while Lilith already disappeared. Coward.

"Rand, move-"

He fell. Peter jumped in after him and snagged him by the waist with a line of webbing on one hand and stuck to the wall with another, "Really getting tired of having to carry you..." He couldn't his grip much longer. From above his left hand shook while his right barely managed to keep hold of the unconsious blonde. Down below was the pit full of blood, the crimson fluid bubbling and hot.

Peter tossed Rand up just before he let go of the web. He barely even noticed himself landing on the boiling blood below and sinking underneath, "Peter!" Through the blood he saw Matt attach the billy club to a beam and swing down. Peter raised a hand weakly and the man dressed as the devil pulled him from death.

Everything after that was a blur. He vaguely remembered being carried out of the building amongst a haze of voices: Moon Knight's confused questions, Rand's apologies and Matt's garbled explanations.

He didn't know how long it was but eventually he shot up with a gasp. He looked around the room quickly and let out a slow breath when he recognized Moon Knight's safehouse, "Someone's awake. Enjoyed your beauty sleep, Peter?" Matt teased. A short distance away Moon Knight refused to meet his gaze while Rand looked like a kid who got caught stealing from the cookie jar.

"Yeah, slept like a..."

...

Something was _wrong_.

Peter stumbled off the bed and tripped as the legs of his pants caught in his feet. His oversized pants. Matt looked distinctly (annoyingly) amused while Rand helped him up, "I don't need you help." He shoved him off and tried to ignore just how off the action was. He rushed over to the nearby full length mirror and almost punched it when he saw his reflection.

Peter Parker...at 7 years old, just like in those old pictures May and Ben had. The sight in front of him almost made him scream. A picture perfect copy of the Peter from over a decade ago dressed in oversized, bloody clothes. He looked like a kid playing dress up.

Matt laughed, the sound deafening in the small safehouse, "It appears the Hand are trying a different approach to immortality. Their spent years are catching up with them slowly but surely and it seems they made a deal with Lilith. In exchange for feeding her their disciples she gives them back the years they've lost. A bloody fountain of youth like in legends of Elizabeth Bathory. I suppose we should count ourselves lucky you weren't turned into an infant or aged out of existence."

This time Peter actually did punch the mirror, shattering it to the floor. Rand winced while Spector paid it no mind, "...What the hell are we supposed to do about this?" He cringed at how high his voice was. He doubted any amount of fake growling would help here.

"I suppose waiting for the years to catch up isn't an option?" Matt grinned at his (still intimidating and he'd kill anyone who said otherwise) glare, "If you're impatient then I suppose we must call your sister. She would know more about your odd physiology than any of us."

"Damn it..."

"Is this a bad time to tell you that Miss. Stacy's giving birth to her new symbiote? Because-"

Peter dragged Matt down by his collar and punched him in the face. Hard.

* * *

**AbraKadavra** \- Witnesses saw the Defenders dragging a kid out of Midland circle. Any idea what that's about?

**Reply from LovenMountain - **Kidnapping, maybe?

**Reply from Sweetient - **Doubt it, doesn't fit their M.O to take kids, especially after what we saw on Arcade's 'game show'. Probably rescuing someone.

**Reply from Callartz - **Apparently there were explosions inside and police found a lot of dead bodies and some Lizards. Think someone's trying to start shit up with that again?

**Reply from Sweetient - **God I hope not. Last thing we need is another Lizard Parker.

**Reply from LovenMountain - **He says while defending Spider-Man, a resurrected Peter Parker. Shits wack.

* * *

If Mary Jane was being honest, a part of her thought she wouldn't be friends with Gwen Stacy for long. Ever since that night at prom she'd clammed in on herself and it was only her impulsive mood to enter the band in a contest that even got Mary Jane into contact with her again. She still had no idea why they'd agreed to it, but at the end of the day they won the competition and the newly christened Mary Janes were there again.

Even then she didn't think it'd last too long; especially with how often Gwen skipped practice and gigs. Glory always stood up for her and Mary Jane always found a way to see the worse in her. Little did she know the other woman was too busy saving a city that called her a murderer and acted like she owed them the world.

And now she was about to watch her give birth.

Mary Jane let out a soft breath and looked at the others in the room. Everyone was here - Gwen's dad, her mom, Jessica, Helena, Ben, May...the only people missing were Cindy, Lana and Peter himself. The first two were busy with the Roxxon thing but promised they'd catch up while Tiger was...well, he didn't answer his phone, but Gwen was sure he'd come. She wished she could have someone she trusted like that.

**_'Pining again?'_** Crimson groused. It definitely wasn't happy being here.

_'I meant in general, cause God knows I can't count on _you_.' _

_**'After all I've done for you. A little thank you wouldn't hurt.'**_

She ignored it and looked back to Gwen. She was lying down wearing nothing but a patient gown on the same see-through cube she'd been in a year ago when Wasp first examined her. Right next to her Webster lounged around and Gwen scratched it idly. She expected things to be more...tense when they got the group text, but so far it'd been rather casual.

Mary Jane shook her head and entered the cube. As far as Wasp told them there wouldn't be a lot of screaming or scrambling for hot water, though Gwen did mention feeling the occasional stomach kick, "Hey, Gwencent." Gwen looked up and smiled nervously.

"Hey." She patted the empty spot next to her and MJ sat, "You okay?"

"Yeah, just kinda want this to be over." She still didn't like to think of what exactly was happening. Gwen Stacy, her best friend, chronically late drummer and freaking _Spider-Woman_, was giving birth. Sure it didn't have hours of labor and screams about pushing but it was still bizarre to think about.

"You and me both."

"Any luck with Tiger?"

"No, he's not answering." Her smile was replaced by a slight frown.

"Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be here." Mary Jane squeezed her hand and got a soft grip in return. A year ago she would've been scared to be here - scared that Crimson would take her over and hurt Gwen while she couldn't do anything but watch. Now she knew she could control it, at least enough to not hurt the people she loved.

"Yeah..." Gwen breathed out deeply, "This is pretty freaky, huh? You ever imagine things would be like this?"

"What, that you being New York's premier hero next to Captain America and She-Hulk, Tiger and your mom coming back to life and me being attached to a mass murdering symbiote? Yeah, I totally guessed that." She rolled her eyes.

**_'I'm the best thing to ever happen to you and you know it.'_**

_'Stop asking to eat Mr. Mulligan and maybe we'll talk about you not being the worst.'_

**_'But he's 76, overweight and having heart problems! He's practically goading us to dig in!'_**

"Nice to see you're taking this so well," Gwen let out a forced laugh, "Hey...you know if you ever have any problems you could tell me, right?"

**_'Yes, tell her all about your date with the devilman. She'll be so thrilled.'_**

"Yeah, I know."

Gwen opened her mouth to reply when she suddenly doubled over, "Oof, looks like it's coming! You better get out of here!" MJ nodded quickly and rushed out of the cube just in time for Gwen's next contraction - or whatever the hell it was - to hit.

Mary Jane suddenly felt nervous, her earlier boredom replaced with nervousness as Gwen gripped the gurney so tight she almost bent it in two. The rest of her family weren't much better judging by the way they looked away or tried to shush the crying baby, "Coming back from the dead was less weird than this..." Helen muttered next to her. MJ nodded even if she was sure she wasn't meant to here.

Webster 'melted' away from her and Gwen gasped, eyes wide and mouth parted. Mary Jane almost burst in when Wasp's voice came through the speakers, "You're getting closer, Gwen. Just focus and don't let Webster separate from you." Gwen grit her teeth and the black goo shifted back into her body, "Good. The new symbiote's birth depends on you both retaining symbiosis."

It was one of the most tense 10 minutes of Mary Jane's life. Everything was quiet save for the sounds of Gwen's struggling breaths and the symbiote whispering something she couldn't make out until, eventually, she saw something else begin to leak out of her. A storage compartment immediately popped out of the floor and caught the falling symbiote, which landed with a dull plop.

The very, very _pink_ symbiote. Huh.

"Is...Is it over?" Gwen asked softly.

"Yes, I believe so." Wasp came into the room and stepped into the cube. She knelt in front of the clear container and inspected the screen mounted on the upper right while the rest of them gathered around Gwen, "Fascinating. It appears that this new symbiote doesn't emit radiation. Possibly an adaptation?"

"Why...Why is it pink?" Gwen asked after she finally got a good look at her new spaw- _baby_.

**_'It looks disgusting. This fleshy, pinky thing. It makes me angry just looking at it.'_**

_'Look who's talking.'_

"Why were your and Ms. Watson's symbiotes black and red? I'm sorry but I don't have much idea how genetics and inheritance works for these lifeforms. The good news is that we can safely assume that symbiosis for it should be possible given the lack of radioactivity, though I'll still conduct some other tests just in case."

"Good, cause I'm pretty sure Cindy called not it..." Gwen blinked wearily.

Webster's snake like head slithered out of Gwen and stopped in front of the container, **'Our child.'** It touched the the container with its 'face' and hummed. The formless blob stirred slightly and a part of it reached out to briefly touch the other side of the container, **'It is tired. Rest will do it - all of us - good.'**

"So...we just leaving it here?" Jessica asked.

"Yes, and it'd be for the best if Gwen stayed a day or two as well. I'll need to conduct more tests, ensure there aren't any side effects from the birthing process. You're all welcome to stay, of course. There's more than enough room for you all."

"Thank you." Mr. Stacy nodded.

"I wonder where Peter is...?" Gwen mumbled.

"I'm sure he's coming, May. Don't worry." Ben held her hand.

Sure enough the elevator dinged behind them. Mary Jane looked back and raised a brow at the two people who stepped out. The guy in the suit she guessed was Moon Knight, but the kid was new. Brown hair, a long sleeved white shirt with a dark bubble vest on top of it, jeans and brown shoes. When he looked up to meet her gaze he looked away with a scowl.

May gasped next to her while Ben gave the kid a wide-eyed look, "...Peter?"

Wait, what?

"Yeah..." Wasp raised a brow and looked to Moon Knight who just shrugged. Mr. Stacy and Jessica looked torn between surprised and just being completely done with this shit while Helen covered her face with hands and groaned, "There was...an accident when we tried to stop a Vampire the Hand was making a deal with. Long story, but I'm stuck like this till Teresa gets here."

Mary Jane's head snapped to Gwen. The blonde's jaw had practically dropped to the floor and any attempt to vocalize her thoughts just ended up with her sputtering nonsense in a loop, "Gwen...?" Mary Jane poked her cheek no response, "...I think she's broken."

"We all are, Mary. What else is new?" Well, that definitely sounded like him.

The elevator dinged again and both Cindy and Lana stepped out. The teenage Superhero stopped when she caught sight of them, "...Who's the kid?"

Oh, this was going just _great_...

* * *

**Cloak and Dagger are cooperative, Sowande's been beaten(?), Gwen's new symbiote baby is born and Noir got himself Detective Conan'd. Like I said above I'll fix this later, so for now just enjoy the upcoming chapters of Spider-Boi Noir beating the shit out of criminals twice his size because the Spider-God thinks a 7 year old is still a decent pawn. Will also give me a chance to explore some new undercover segments given that he's now beneath suspicion.**

**Oh, and for obvious reasons we aren't going to have any romance scenes between the leads. I know people joke about it cause of that Endgame scene with Captain Marvel but I'm not interested in getting my fic perma-banned. Good thing he and Gwen are 'broken up' currently. **

**Anyway, this chapter's only big change comes from the first segment. Originally Echo did way more and was the one who broke out of Dagger's dark dimension. I switched it to Lana since I didn't want to make one of the protagonists look useless. Echo can do more later when they get to Bakuto.**

**As for the spawn (name pending), I plan to base it off Jarro from the new Justice League comic. Anyone familiar can expect hilarity.**

**1\. Are there characters who don't interact much you wish did? One friend/critic mentioned that Teresa only talking to Gwen a handful of times and completely ignoring Cindy felt odd given that they're Spiders as well. **

**Other readers also seemed to like when Gwen was caught flat-footed dealing with Satanna and the nightclub and want more scenes like that. Or having the Hand attack Peter while he's with one of the other science based heroes to show more discrepancy between ancient chi and radiation superpowers.**

**2\. Hmm, would you guys like to continue the story or should I write up that Moon Knight prequel oneshot next chapter? Feels good since we're currently in a lull in the plot but I'll let you guys decide.**

**3\. What do you guys wanna name the baby symbiote? Cause right now if I can't get anything it's getting named Chocolate. **

**Review Answers:**

**Roxasdualwielder - Yeah...I think that's gonna be hard to do given recent events.**

**Veredis - Hey, new reader :) Roxxon outsmarting Gwen doesn't feel deserved since he hasn't been built up. I can have the 'Noir saves her' reversal for a different villain. **

**Brave2000 - We'll see Daimon again later, but he's kind of overpowered for normal Hand mooks.**

**Lolrus555- Could always go back to Spacebattles :) Anyway, while I mostly agree with your sentiments on Peter/Gwen a big part of them getting along is Gwen also changing. While she still doesn't _like _killing people she's learned that not everyone shares her exact morals and learned to trust her friend's judgements. If she's always moralizing and acting like they can't control themselves then she's really acting like she can't trust them to handle themselves.**

**Matt as Daredevil was one of the more risky moves given how much of a fucking bastard Matt was in the last volume. The dude was an absolute monster and even the 'he was possessed' excuse is hard to swallow given that he still acts like a prick now, albeit a self loathing one. It's up to you whether you find him redeemable and ultimately just another damned soul.**

**Also, what did Frog-Man say bad about Peter? He tried to impress Gwen but I can't really recall him shit talking Peter.**

**AlextheSouthParkGhostRider - O...kay, hope you enjoy that view.**

**The Red Ghost 22 - Never watched the Boys, so dunno. As for Peter not being too pissy, he does get away with running around being a vigilante despite his de-aging so Gwen's clearly lightened up. **

**Titan616 - It has its pros and cons, I guess. Still, you can't deny that Gwen is WAY more stressed when she's with Peter than when she's not. I can't imagine she'll be happy to see him running around as a 7 year old Spider-Boi attacking criminals and mercenaries. **

**Chaos4Ever - Hello Reader, and welcome to the fic of Madhouse Blues. Nice day for reading, ain't it? Hu-hu! As for name, that comes later. Host is tentatively Laura currently. **


	27. New Size, Same Problems

**So according to the votes we've got 2 votes for every possible host...and a whopping 12 for Laura. I knew I should've seen it coming, but still, wow. She only has slightly more plot importance than Frog-Man so I have no clue how she won outside of maybe 'she's smol'. **

**Anyway, sorry for the gap between updates. Anxiety's kicking in again now that Board Exams are coming up and I've taken to playing Skyrim again with mods. Had to churn this out.**

**Also, a couple of readers thought the blood dunk would lead to Spider Trigger. I feel I should remind people that ST isn't demonic in nature and he would've taken power from the Spider-God, not demons. Dunking him in the blood wouldn't give him demonic powers since it's incompatible.**

**Side Note - I'm going to start using the usernames of reviewers for the tweeter segments cause I'm way too lazy to keep coming up with my own. So if someone with your username acts like a jerk in the story, please don't think I'm attacking you or trying to cause offense. I'm just lazy. **

* * *

**Vendetta543:** For readers wondering if Spider-Man and Spider-Woman's recent break-up will stop me from updating **Three Tangled in a Web**, rest assured it won't. Fanfics are about getting away from reality.

**Titan616:** Phew, thought we lost you there :) till eagerly awaiting who'll win the love triangle.

**Mingyu:** What's it about?

**Noisy-Cricket: **It's a love triangle romance between Spider-Man, Spider-Woman and Gwen Stacy. According to some journos she was an old friend of his before that night at prom.

**Mingyu:** Wait, I don't get it. How do you write Gwen Stacy? Does she have a blog or something?

**Vendetta543:** Nah. I did some searching and found a few headbook photos of her in a band so I just made her a tomboy punk rocker. She was just supposed to be a side character for the Spider-Man/Spider-Woman romance but readers ended up really liking her and she ended up as the third protagonist after the two leads. I even had to change the title to include her.

**Psycho825:** What do you expect? Spider-Woman fics have been done to death and a lot of people can't really sympathize with a billionaire heiress. The way you wrote Gwen Stacy, especially when she found out the guy she mourned for years was Spider-Man, was really well-done. I'm definitely shipping those two and hope she wins.

**Nerdman3000:** That and it's a childhood friend romance, which is always a classic.

**Psycho825:** I'll be honest I just really can't sympathize with Spider-Woman in your fic. She comes across as too bossy and can't really understand Spider-Man's POV since she's had everything handed to her. Gwen Stacy is much more sympathetic since she's dealing with reconciling the fact that her old childhood friend came back from the dead as a killer vigilante, which is much more of a hook.

**Titan616:** I'm still a Spider-Woman fan since she gives Spider-Man the most character development.

**StrikerNotBombshell:** Holy shit...I can't wait to tell Spider-Woman about this.

* * *

This wasn't how he wanted this to go.

Peter sighed and leaned back on the seat, trying his best to ignore how small he felt on the suddenly oversized cushions. The room Wasp had given them was wide and homey, but at ease was the last thing he felt. A part of him didn't even want to come here despite Gwen's circumstances. He'd make up an excuse and say something came up and that they wouldn't see him for the next couple of hours...or days...or weeks. Contacting Teresa was more difficult than they initially thought.

Now instead he was here being gawked out- well, all of them except for Cindy. She'd been surprised, sure, but she'd immediately shrugged it off. _'I'm from another dimension and I fought aliens, this really shouldn't be that big of a deal'_, she'd said. There was a reason she was his best friend. Always so quick to have his back even after he spent 4 months playing the noir vigilante.

Of course, he couldn't say the same for the others. Lana and Mary had been badgering him non-stop once they regained their senses. How did he become like this? Was it permanent? Where the hell did he get the clothes? That last one got him a few looks when he told them Moon Knight already had them on hand. Apparently he figured being turned into a 7 year old was an inevitability in their line of work.

Gwen was...quiet, which scared him more than he wanted to admit. Gwen was never quiet. She was bright and loud and wore her heart on her sleeve; sometimes to the point that she could be irritating, but still. Now she just looked at him, mouth slightly parted like she'd been drugged with something. At least her partner was gone - it decided to stay in the box with its new baby.

So he did the first thing he could think of to snap her out of it.

He pulled out a packet of cigarettes from his pocket and tried to light it. His thumb slipped on the clicker (damn stubby fingers) and that made Gwen snap up, "Are you seriously going to smoke right now?"

"Why not? I've still got my powers." Matt's broken jaw could attest to that. It'd be harder to fight, definitely, but he'd had worse...well, not really, but he could deal with it. Least he wasn't blind again.

Gwen stood and took the cigarette from his hands, "Okay, I'm putting my foot down here. No smoking when you're a fucking 7 year old. It just looks..._wrong_." Funny coming from the woman who just gave birth to a pile of pink goop. Hopefully she wouldn't say anything when he started using guns again.

"Whatever you say." He shrugged. At least she was talking again.

"I'm still just wondering what the fuck's up with this city. I mean we fought a damn demon last year and now we've got, what, some kind of ancient Vampire bitch running around? What next, we gonna deal with witches riding dragons trying to summon fairies to fight genies in some kind of secret war?"

"Don't tempt fate, Lana." Damn it, now he really did want a smoke, "The point is this condition's temporary. Annoying, but temporary. I mean it'll be harder to fight since I don't have as much reach but it should be easier to sneak around-"

"Woah, woah, woah! Hold up!" Gwen said suddenly, "Are you telling me you're going to keep being Spider-Man while you're like...this?" She gestured to him like he was some kind of alien.

"I don't see why not. I still have my abilities and the Hand are going to be re-doubling their efforts now that we ruined their ritual and took one of theirs." Matt and Rand took Sowande to a place to interrogate him. He doubted it'd do anything - Rand would just give him mean looks and Matt himself confirmed that the Fingers were impossible to break. Wouldn't stop him from trying, though.

"And the fact that you're currently_ 7_ doesn't strike you as a reason to hold off?"

"Not particularly."

"I feel like we've had this conversation before..." Mary muttered.

"Yeah, I'm getting pretty sick of it myself," Cindy said, "Look, Gwen, you know he's gonna go out there again so please don't argue. He was annoying enough when you grounded him when he was legal, I _really_ don't wanna think how bad he's gonna be now that he's a literal kid. I have my hands full with Laura as it is."

"You're all heart, Cin." Peter rolled his eyes and smiled slightly before turning back to Gwen, "Don't like it any more than you do, but finding Teresa's harder than we thought and I don't want to just sit around like this. Maybe we can find something that can fix me." It was a hell of a longshot, but he'd had worst odds. Matt could attest to that.

Gwen briefly chewed on her lower lip then nodded, "Fine, just be careful."

"As much as I always am." He hummed, "And I'm...sorry for not being here earlier."

"It's not your fault; I didn't know we were gonna give birth till tonight." Still felt odd to think about. He loved Gwen, but motherly would be the last thing he'd call her; even if she could be as overbearing as one sometimes, "Speaking of, I might have missed it but what are you doing to do with it? Have you given it a name? Figured out who's gonna host it?"

"Webster and I've been brainstorming but haven't come up with a name yet. I didn't wanna name it Chocolate no matter what she said." Of course it'd suggest that name, "As for the host..." She chewed on her lower lip and looked to Cindy, "So did you think about-"

"No."

"Come on!" He almost laughed at the sudden immature tone in her words, "Jan confirmed it's not radioactive so that's not an issue!"

"Not the the point, Gwen." The older Spider gave her a steely look, "I'll be straight with you: not everyone is cool with letting someone or something else into their skull. You and Webster are cool, and really all the power to you for that, but me? I like my headspace with just me for company Same reason why I had to stop myself from decking former Agent Hill when she tried to order me to be their new symbiote test project."

"But-"

"And honestly, if that thing's really innocent then you don't want it seeing what's in my head. Trust me."

"I agree with her, Gwencent. As literally the only other person on the planet with one of these things I'd tell anyone else it's not fun and games," Mary said.

"No offense, Jane, but I think you're a unique case. Not everyone gets a serial killer parasite on them," Lana said. The skin of her exposed shoulders thrummed red briefly. Looked like the monster was mad, "But yeah, I agree with Cin. Imagine a camera pointed at you no matter where you went. I mean fuck, I'd definitely have to go nun since there's no way I'm jacking off with someone watching." She paused, "Wait, doesn't that mean you and Pete do it when-"

"Webster goes off when I have personal time, same with showers- wait, why am I even talking about this with you?" Gwen huffed frustratedly.

"Could we please not discuss our sex lives, especially considering the state I'm in now?" Peter said.

"Speaking of, I hate to be the 'mom' again but please tell me you two aren't planning to-"

"Of course not!" Gwen shouted before he could reply, "Jesus, Cin, what kind of-"

"I'm just making sure, Gwen. No need to bite my head off for it." Cindy rolled her eyes then

"Back on topic, if you really need someone then why not Norah or Jessica or your dad? You trust them, right?"

"I already asked them: they all said no." Gwen's shoulders sagged, "Dad and Jess said they're not putting other kids - deliberate ones - off the table just yet and they don't wanna risk what a symbiote will do to pregnancies. And Norah...well, she made the same argument Cindy did. Apparently she really likes her alone time." Most people did. It sometimes worried him how quickly Gwen had taken to sharing all her thoughts with something else so intimately.

"Oh man, Nor's gonna freak when she finds out about you, Pete." Lana grinned at him.

"Yeah, I figured..." He sighed.

"Well...there's always Gayle," Mary said slowly. Gwen and Lana just looked at her like she was crazy, which he started to think she was, "Before you ask, I didn't tell her. She just overheard me when we were talking and then 'casually' brought up that she's totally down for any new superpowered blobs if we're handing them out. If you really need someone to host then she might do, right?"

"The fact that she's referring to it as a superpowered blob makes that a hard no." Gwen crossed her arms, "I like Gayle, I do, but it's pretty obvious she just wants something to give her powers. The reason I asked Cindy and Norah and Jess and my dad is cause I know they wouldn't just use it to start live streaming as another Costume. It's a child, not a power suit."

"Yeah, I figured as much. Gonna have to tell her the bad news then." She scratched the back of her head and sighed, "I guess we'll just have to keep looking. Might wanna name it first, though. Gonna be a hard sell if you don't even know what to call it...or if it has a gender. You call yours 'she', right?"

"If it's anything like the other symbiotes then I assume it'll take a sex once it bonds with something. For now 'it' seems appropriate," Peter said, attempting to make his voice low. Lana snorted and covered her mouth with both hands, "Is something funny, Lana?"

"Dude, your voice is...I'm sorry, but you trying to sound like Tracy Dick is just way too fucking cute."

"I. am. not. cute." He was Spider-Man, damn it. Even after he got his ugly mug shown all over New York most of the lowlives were smart enough to know when to cut and run. He wasn't going to let that damn Vampire's blood bath do him in.

"You know that's something a lot of kids say when they wanna look grown up, right? And that it never works?" Cindy snarked.

"Uh...we probably shouldn't piss him off, you two. He can still turn invisible and snap our necks," Mary said, though he didn't miss the slight smile she had.

"Oh, go to hell. Next time a demon comes out trying to eat your souls don't come crying to me."

"Aww, we're sorry, Pete. You want a glass of milk to make you feel better?" Lana snorted and laughed again.

"Fine, laugh it up..." Despite the teasing he oddly felt better. He'd been scared they would treat him differently, walk eggshells around like he really was a kid, but they still treated him like their friend. If there was one thing he hated it was being treated like an invalid, "Joking aside, what happened to you both? I understand why I'm late but it's not like either of you to play catch-up like this. Did you get into any trouble?"

"Yeah, couple of morons with hero complexes." Lana sneered and energy buzzed through her hands, "Lightboy and Darkbitch thought they were saving people by kidnapping em and dumping em outside of New York. Would've caved their faces in if Aracely didn't tell me not to. Oh and of course Cin here was too busy getting fucked to answer my phone calls, so thanks for that."

"Seriously?" He gave her a disapproving look, "I thought you'd balance your time better. I'm disappointed."

"I _will_ spank you, you midget." Cindy glared at him half-heartedly, "And for your information I was following a lead with Feli. Scorpion's in tight with the Maggia and there's been a rash of killings we think are tied to that, but so far it's a dead end. Pretty hard to get info when people suddenly die of heroin overdose while we're interrogating them. While their hands are tied and they don't have a single needle mark. Probably a Gifted of some kind."

"I could help you with that."

"Maybe try fixing yourself first, tiny." That wasn't a _no, _though he wasn't looking forward to Felicia finding out about his condition.

"By the way, have you talked to Norah? She's been looking for you," Mary said to Gwen.

"Kinda. She's been texting me about how our ruse is going..." She sighed and shook her head. Even now she had her doubts on the plan, "I mean it's going well, everyone thinks we're totally broken up, but..." He'd seen some of the comments. As expected the majority of the public took Gwen's side, cause apparently these people had nothing better to do with their time than butting into the relationship of other people. He might've been hurt if it wasn't so sad.

"We could still go with Peter and Cindy's plan," Mary Jane said, "Heck, isn't Lana's friend psychic? Wouldn't that work?"

"I asked Aracely about it. She says mind reading isn't something she can focus on and sometimes it's hard to pick apart thoughts - sometimes she'll get what she wants, sometimes she'll just hear about what fetish you're hiding. I'll let you guys know if she gets better at it. Oh, by the way," She rummaged through her pocket and tossed a phone Peter's way, which he caught easily, "You need to take better care of your phone, Pete."

"Where did you get this?"

"That ninja chick you're running around with had it. Ask her." Great, so no chance of getting answers for that then, "By the way I put in a password. It's my birthday."

"Thanks..." He pocketed the phone, "So now what do we do? You still wanna go along with this ruse?"

"Too late to back out now." Gwen breathed out softly, "I'll stay here for a couple of days to watch over...uh, screw it let's call it Charlie for now, and after that I'll go back to patrolling. If Roxxon asks I'll say I was having my post-breakup pout."

"I think that's my cue to leave," Cindy said.

"Wait, you're going already?" Gwen asked.

"I gotta go finish up that case, kinda left Feli hanging when Lana called and you sent that group chat about your new pink baby." That was another thing - why the hell was that thing pink? About as far as White was considering how Gwen's partner looked, "I'll keep in contact, don't worry. Only reason I won't be is if I'm doing something really important." She gave a pointed look to Lana at that.

The younger brunette snorted, "Yeah, sure. I gotta go too anyway. We're setting up a place for Aracely with Hawkeye. Speaking of, you mind telling her to give us a discount, Spider-Gwen? We ain't all swimming in cash."

"Yeah, no prob. I'll ask Kate for a favor." Gwen turned to Mary, "You leaving too? You know you can stay."

"I'm gonna split too, sorry. Crimson's been grumbling since that little pink blob popped out and I'm getting pretty sick of it. I'll just take a swing around town, try to clear my head."

And just like that the two of them were alone. An uncomfortable silence settled over the room and the both of them refused to look the other in the eye. Gwen had just given birth and he'd turned back into a kid - all in all not the _weirdest_ thing that happened to them, but still up there. It beat being dead, at least.

Peter looked towards her again and frowned. She sat on the bed, knees tucked to her chest with her arms wrapped around her legs. She looked small wrapped up in the baggy white sweatshirt and black, oversized shorts,_ 'Damn it...'_ He leaned back and closed his eyes. He wanted to touch her, to be there for her, but because they got careless he was stuck like this till Teresa found enough time to hop back to New York to bail him out. The only other option was making a deal with Satanna, but he didn't trust her enough not to turn him into girl or something.

Eventually he mustered up the courage to sit next to her. Not too close, but enough that she felt his presence, "...Sorry." She looked at him in confusion, "I'm only like this because I got careless-"

"Don't even, Peter. I don't know what happened but I'm damn sure you saved someone and that's the reason you look like that."

"...Rand saved us too so it's even as far as I'm considered." The right side of his mouth quirked up in a wry smile, "Probably better this way. Rand has that company he's running and even Matt's working as a lawyer. Least I can afford to go off for a week or two."

"You do remember we're trying to find you a job and into ESU, right?"

"I've actually had some luck there. Norah offered me a position as her 'official photomonkey' and Mary said she could talk to her boss about hiring me to work in that theatre." The latter would allow him to keep a closer eye on Mary too. Something was off with how she was acting, "What about you? Are you okay? Can't imagine giving birth to a symbiote is easy."

"It wasn't..." She laid back and sighed tiredly, "Honestly I'm fucking exhausted, but I feel...proud, I guess? Charlie may not be a normal baby but it's ours and I..." She trailed off. After a moment of hesitation Peter held her hand and squeezed. Gwen was hardly the largest tallest woman he knew but given his new state her hand easily dwarfed his. He didn't let it stop him.

"Peter-"

"I'm here for you." He smiled at her, "I may look like a kid now but I'm still me. If you need someone to lean on then don't hesitate to ask me."

"Not a good idea considering you're half my height." She grinned weakly and squeezed his hand in turn, "God, this is _so_ fucking weird. I mean you look just like you did 12 years ago when we met." Back when they were just innocent kids who had no idea what'd happen to them. He didn't know if it was good or bad that, despite everything, he'd go through it again.

"I know. I probably gave Ben and May a heart attack when I showed up." Helen and Captain Stacy didn't seem to care that much, at least, "...Our lives are crazy."

"Just figured that out now?" She laughed, soft and genuine. It made him happy to hear, "Just promise me you'll be careful, alright? I know I've been really overprotective lately, and you being a 7 year old now _really_ doesn't help, but I'm trusting you that you know not to push yourself too much...and keep an eye on Murderdock. Don't like the idea of him hanging around you while you're like this."

"Gwen, as much as I don't trust him I really doubt he's doing anything with kids...at least not without a demon pulling his strings."

"Yeah, sure." She snorted and let go of his hand, "I'm gonna go visit Charlie. Wanna come with?"

"In a bit. I'll go check on Ben and May first."

They went their separate ways and Peter made his way to the room the old couple stayed. He stopped in front of the door and suddenly felt nervous. He'd gotten better at talking to them, especially after those three months in France, but he still found it difficult sometimes. He knew a part of them still considered him the son they lost even after everything.

"You just gonna stand there?" He jumped and turned to the new voice behind him to find Helen looking down at him with a slight smile, a cup of hot chocolate on each hand, "Cause I'm pretty sure Ben and May don't have your fancy spider-sense."

"No, its just..."

"Gotta face em some time, little Peter." Oh, great, back with _that_ nickname.

He sighed and knocked on the door. Ben opened the door after a few seconds and gave them both a strained smile, "Hey you two. Come in, May's just laying down."

The two of them followed him inside and Peter immediately felt guilty when he saw sitting on the bed with a hot towards over her head. Besides Gwen the two of them were the closest to him - the kid, both of them - before that damn prom night, "...Sorry." He didn't bother trying to lower his voice, which made the apology sounded high and even more pathetic.

May was the first to reply, "It's not your fault." He'd heard that way too much. He was getting tired of everyone telling him that, "It was just...it was a bit of a shock. Seeing you like this just made me remember."

"Before I became a freak, you mean?" There was no bitterness or accusation in the words.

"You don't have to worry about us, son. We've experienced weirder."

"I feel I have to chip in considering I came back from the dead after ten years." Helen set the cups on a side table, "Oh and my daughter was a year shy of being able to drink and my husband got a new girlfriend/fiancee, which I didn't find out about till way later. If I can go through that without going nuts then I'm sure Ben and May'll be fine seeing you turned into a munchkin for a bit."

"Not everyone's as strong as you, Helen." Ben chuckled lowly.

"Hm...you guys are planning to leave soon, right?" Peter asked.

"Yeah. We stayed overtime cause Gwen mentioned her new baby and we wanted to be here when it arrived," Helen said, "We've actually gone way past our allotted time to be here."

"Sorry about that...and please don't say it's not my fault," he said, cutting Ben off, "It is my fault, but it doesn't mean I'm going to spend the rest of my life whinging about it."

"It's not all bad. France is a nice place to live and we've made our own life and friends there." May smiled, "But you really should visit us more. You left with barely a goodbye before."

"Sorry about that. Had a lead on Sowande being in South Africa." Wasn't him, but he did help that rebellion stop that warlord razing all the villages, so he considered it time well spent, "Anyway, I just wanted to make sure you were both alright."

"They're tougher than they look, Peter," Helen said, "Speaking of kids, they were really excited when they heard Gwen was pregnant...even if it was cause they thought it was your and Gwen's."

"Is this really the right time to talk about this?" He gestured to himself.

"You're not actually a kid, though? I mean you look like one but I'm pretty sure most kids don't carry around guns and or can turn invisible." Helen shrugged. He didn't know whether to be impressed or put off by her complete nonchalance, "All I'm saying is that it has to happen at some point, right? I mean there's no rush but I'm not getting any younger."

"Me and Gwen haven't exactly thought about it. Technically I'm not allowed to even drink yet so it's not something that comes up.." And he had no idea if she even _could_ get pregnant considering she was a ball of radioactive blood with a symbiotic lifeform attached to her. That wasn't even mentioning himself coming back from the dead. Twice, "Sorry to disappoint you."

"We're not disappointed or anything like that. We're happy if you both are happy."

Peter left them on that somewhat awkward note and made his way to where the new symbiote was being kept. The door opened with a soft whoosh and he found Gwen crouched in front of the clear container, her face lit up in a bright smile as she poked the pink blob. The blob itself seemed to enjoy the attention, alternating between rubbing up against her fingers and 'talking' to the black symbiote that shared its temporary home.

"You look like you're having fun." He stood next to her.

"Yeah, she's really energetic!" So it was a 'she' now? Going by what she knew it probably took her voice so it could talk, "She's...actually, it's kinda hard to explain. Why not touch her and see?"

"Uh...you sure that's a good idea after what happened last time?"

**"It will be fine so long as Chocolate does not attach to you as a host." **

Peter refrained from commenting on the name and reached out a tentative hand towards the pink blob. It 'stared' at the offending limb for a second before suddenly pouncing,_ "Hi!"_ He winced and almost pulled back. The damn thing was _loud_. And copying his voice, which didn't much help, _"Who are you? You're small! Like me! Everything else is so big!"_ Why was its voice so damn high?

He felt silly talking to a blob of pink goop attached to his hand, but he was working together with someone who was possessed by the Devil so what did he know?

"My name's Peter-"

_"Peter? Oh, Peter! Mom talked about you before!" _Mom? He gave Gwen a sideways glance and she just smiled and shrugged, _"Parent knows you too! She said you were mom's other Other! Why are you so small? She said you were tall! You're not tall!"_

"You don't have to keep saying that, I get it." He sighed and wondered which side of the family Charlie the Chocolate blob got its energy from, "You're really talktative for someone born just an hour ago."

_"Really? Parent says its odd too. She said she was quiet first before she trusted Mom. But I don't want to be quiet, I want to talk! Everything's so bright here! And I wanna leave the box but Parent won't let me! The box is boring!"_

**"You were just born, little one. You need to stay first, then you can explore."**

_"But it's boring here! Why can't I bond with Peter and explore like you and Mom?"_

**"He's not a viable candidate for symbiosis due to his condition. We are trying to find you a host but both you and your Other must agree to it. Not everyone is so eager to bond with others like us."**

_"What? Why? It'll be great! I can do hero stuff like you and mom do! Save the city with my very own Other!"_

"...How does it know that?" Peter asked.

**"Memories are shared genetically, it seems. If Chocolate is ever to have offspring of their own then the memory line will continue."**

"I'm just glad she's happy." Gwen rubbed the top of the smooth blob's 'body' and looked like she was resisting the urge to pick it up out of the box and squealing, "Not all of are the memories we have are the best, so..."

"Well, she has you and your partner here for her. Can't think of better parents."

"You're here too, remember? You and dad and mom and Jess and MJ and everyone else. But you should probably fix your...thing; don't want her to keep calling you small, right?"

"Yeah, yeah..." Maybe he really should try to make a deal with Satanna...

* * *

**SpiderGod766:** Yo I found Spinerette's dating profile on Flint! **-embedded link-**

**Brave2000: **Old news dude, people've been sending her match requests for like a week now.

**usernamesarebullshit: **Anyone had any luck?

**Crieger:** None so far...

**The Red Ghost22:** I matched and we set up for a date a month ago before she did the identity reveal. She had to postpone twice so I unmatched, figured it wasn't worth it. If I only knew...

**Brave2000:** Dude you were _this _close to sleeping with an Avenger!

**The Red Ghost22:** Yeah, I know. My friends still give me shit over it.

**usernamesarebullshit:** On the bright side according to some tabloids apparently she just uses Flint for hookups instead of dates so it wouldn't have lasted long anyway.

**Spinerette:** For your information I do use it to find dates, but it's kinda hard to get those when you're always so busy. And while I'm here, PLEASE STOP SPAMMING ME WITH INVITES. If asking once doesn't work asking 7 more times won't help.

* * *

He was getting too old for this shit.

Detective Christian Blake leaned back on his chair and watched idly as Spinerette the avenger wonder girl dragged another one of the costumed freaks to the holding cell and slammed the barred doors shut. Looked like one of those punk kids who worshiped that pumpkin freak, "You can't stop us! The Jack-o-Lanterns are coming back, baby! We're gonna-"

"Get your asses beat before the next group of schmucks decide they've got our numbers. Then we'll kick their asses too. Shut up." She raised a fist and the pathetic fuck actually fell on his ass when he scrambled back. He almost snorted and ignored the creaking of his left leg. Damn thing always hurt when it rained, "Now be a good boy and tell us all about the rest of your fanboy group's hiding."

Blake ignored the back and forth and looked down at his desk. Same old reports, same shitty coffee he kept drinking to survive the night shift. He was one of the old dogs, as the rest of the guys in the shift 'affectionately' called him, and he more than lived up to the name. His face was tan and wrinkled with short, cropped salt and pepper hair and a beard that was the neatest thing about him. Even his suit looked old, a dull gray and white number that he'd worn since he first made detective over 30 years ago.

Not he had to look too presentable. He'd been a night shift desk jockey for the past 8 years and chances were he wasn't gonna gonna change that before the place finally forced him to retire. Truth be told he'd been thinking more and more about doing it even before the chief finally put her foot down.

All cause of them.

He eyed avenger girl with slightly narrowed eyes. She was talking to a couple of the greenbloods about a new case of hers and they were eating it all up. He almost sneered right then and there. Back then you had to earn the badge. Take the test, hit the streets, get your hands dirty. And now? Now you just had to get lucky with radioactive bugs and know the right people. Back then if you got in cause of who you knew everyone'd treat you like the nepotistic little shit you were, but here they were heaping their praises even when she came and went whenever the hell she wanted and worked with thieves and vigilantes.

Except Masters, but he wasn't any better. He seemed to think screaming louder than anyone else was his way of sticking it to the their Avenger loan but really it just made him look like a child.

Speaking of kids, she looked way too damn young. She said she was practically pushing 30 but the way she looked you'd think she was a fresh college co-ed. That was another thing that bothered him. She had way too much power and leeway for someone who looked like they weren't old enough to drink. She just waltzed in and out as she damn well pleased and no one stopped her. It was pathetic.

And it made his side job harder than it should be.

Sighing, he stood up from his desk and made his way outside, his ankle throbbing in full since he forgot to bring his painkillers. No one really paid the old dog any mind when he went on one of his smoke breaks. To the rest of the youngblood he might as well have been furniture, "Tch..." He took out a cigarette and lit it as soon as he was outside. It'd only be a matter of time till that punk in the holding cell talked.

Time to inform his 'benefactor'.

He limped his way to the drop off point, his only company the muggy night air. He was one of the 'survivors' of the purge last year when that journalist spilled the beans on the former kingpin's assets. After that it didn't matter what you were - police chiefs, mayoral candidates, priests; you'd be put under the microscope all the same. That was what happened when people found out you were taking bribes from demons. New Yorkers could take human corruption just fine, but even they had to draw the line somewhere.

He was low enough on the totem pole that he managed to slip on by. For the most part he stuck to the small gigs: a little payoff here, a look the other way there. Most he ever went was shooting the occasional lowlife for 'resisting arrest', but no one looked twice at those. So another Yancy Street Gang punk died and his merchandise went missing? Just another gang war.

Probably helped he got em from punks with rapsheets a mile wide. He considered it...community service. Another less murderous scumbag out on the streets and he got a little kickback in return. Wasn't that different from what some of those other vigilantes did.

Blake wasn't stupid. Sure he sold the odd hit here or there but he wasn't dumb enough to try and make himself the new Kingpin like every other young punk thought they could be when Murdock was taken down. He did his work, took the occasional side job and that was that. You stick your head out and it got lopped off. No, he was perfectly happy doing his part and leaving it at that.

Till he got that damn email.

He finished off the cigarette and stomped it out in frustration. It all started a month ago. A single email, no subject and no sender and nothing on it but a dozen pictures, each more incriminating than the last. Pictures of him taking buyoffs from pimps and dealers, taking drugs from the still-warm bodies of scumbags people wouldn't miss. Something told him that Captain Watanabe wouldn't look at his side job the same way he did. He wasn't one of them fancy Avengers, after all.

He stopped at the designated alley and, ignoring the way his joints protested, knelt down to pick up the phone covered by a plastic bag underneath the dumpster. This was the offer he got - in exchange for his secret stalker not blowing the whistle he'd have to make the occasional phone call. He wouldn't have to kill anyone and in exchange he just had to tell them when certain people got caught by the police.

Sadly for him those Lantern punks were one of em. He dialed the pre-programmed number and gave his report, if you could even call it that, as quick as he could. He had no clue why his stalker wanted the info and he didn't care to ask.

It was the same deal either way - they'd email him a location, he'd make a report if anything ever came up and then they'd email him another place after a day or two. None of the places were ever used twice and the phones were disposable; one call and the circuits got fried. If he were a bettin' man he'd say that his stalker was bankrolling the crazies, but he had no idea why anyone'd waste money on that.

The phone fizzled as soon as he cut the call and he dumped it in the trash.

He'd paid the piper today, but how long could he keep it up? Wasn't like he could just quit; his 'benefactor' made it very clear that if he became useless those pictures were going out to every journalist in the city and he could kiss cushy retirement goodbye. Cops didn't last long in the slammer, especially ones like him who lasted so long. Grudges lasted a lifetime in the big house.

He fished out another cigarette and made his way to one of his older haunts; if Captain Watanabe asked he was following up on a case. Yancy Street, so affectionately labelled the 'ass crack of New York' by both locals and outsiders. When Hell's Kitchen was 'purified', if you could even call it that, a lot of the dregs decided to look for new haunts.

Better for him, at least; saved him a trip.

He saw it as soon as he stepped foot inside - dealers giving out to everyone from bastards desperate for relief or yuppies looking for a high, streetwalkers parading their 'goods' out in the open. Each and every vice right there for the taking if you knew where to look. He leg throbbed again and he walked towards his old alley. The old pimp here owed him a favor.

Mars, cause apparently Pluto was already taken, looked as far away from a pimp as you could think. He wasn't a muscle-bound meathead and he wasn't a fruit who wore furs and canes. He looked more like a used car salesman with his tacky blue suit and oily, slicked back hair, and the quality of his 'products' matched that. Most of them were addicted to something and had the bruises to match.

But they were cheap and if he wanted something pretty he'd look at a magazine, not here.

"Christian, my old friend!" Mars spread his arms wide and grinned, showing off his stained teeth. Blake never could figure out what the hell that accent was; always seemed to switch every time he came here, "How's the knee?"

"Is Min here?" he asked.

"Ah...no, sorry. Minnie, she has gone to visit family." So she was dead, either cause the drugs finally kicked in or one of her clients didn't like her performance. Damn shame, "Ah, but I have new girl, very fresh! Still unpopped!"

"How young we talking here?"

"Has not even had her first blood yet!" And then he grinned like a kid who got an A on their test. Blake just felt sick. He wasn't a saint by any means, but he wasn't one of those sick fucks who got off to kids or cartoons. If he were an honest cop he would've cuffed the guy then and there, but then the other boys would've asked what he was doing and Mars knew too much.

Or he could just shoot him, but that wouldn't do much. Some other pimp would take over and nothing would change.

So he just shook his head and let out a long suffering sigh, "That ain't what I'm here for."

"If you say so, Christian." He dragged his name out, like he was learning words for the very first time, "Perhaps you-"

And that was as far as Mars got before a blood red rope snagged him by the neck and pulled him up the roof. Instinct kicked in and Blake reached for his gun but by the time he looked up all he saw was Mars' feet being dragged over the edge of the roof right before his screams were cut off.

"What the f-"

A red stick came to his right and smacked his right hand hard. Blake dropped the gun and another stick hit him straight in the forehead. He stumbled back from the force of the sudden hit and a guy dressed in all red landed in front of him and kicked his gun away, "Let's try this without guns, hm?" He grinned at Blake's murderous glare, "Never did understand the appeal myself."

"...I know you." Daredevil, or at least that was what everyone else called him. Wasn't like the guy advertised.

"Funny, I thought I was only famous around Hell's Kitchen."

"You're a vigilante. I'm a cop, I'm-"

"An attempted solicitor? I did make out your conversation with our soon-to-be departed friend there. Tell me, what part of the police manual states that prostitution is a healthy way to spend your time? I'm just curious." Blake's glare hardened and he stood up shakily. He wasn't going to get intimidated by a guy in an oversized halloween costume, "No response? Then perhaps you'd like to talk to my friend."

Daredevil looked up behind him and when Blake turned around he almost fell down again at what he saw. It was a woman, that much was obvious by the curves of the suit, but not one he recognized. She clung to the wall by the tips of her fingers like Spider-Woman and looked down at him without a word, her back pressed against the bricks. Her entire body was covered in a black and red fabric that left no inch of skin or hair to be seen.

And she was swathed with blood.

He almost reached for his gun again before she suddenly landed in front of him, "He on the list?" Her voice was smooth; a singer's tongue if he'd ever heard it. It didn't match anything else about her.

"No, but he's still of interest. Just not for us. The information he have could be useful."

"Whatever you two freaks want, I'm not telling you shit!" He spat out before he could think better of it. Maybe it was pride or maybe it was just complete desperation.

The woman, if he could even call her that, narrowed her eyes up at him, _**"Oh really?" **_

Her face split apart. It was hard to describe what he saw. Tongue, teeth and blood seemed to mix together in the distorted _thing_ she had for a face. Blake screamed and he was sure he would've fallen to the ground if the monster in front of him hadn't grabbed his shoulders to keep him upright.

Summoning whatever strength he could, Blake shoved **it** off and ran down to the end of the alley and the waiting streets, screaming all the while.

"Hm...that went well." Matt hummed and picked up the service revolver the corrupt detective had left behind, trying to ignore the smell of fresh urine in the air. Evidently Mr. Blake had pissed himself. Ms. Watson changed herself back to normal - well, as normal as she could be - and crossed her arms, "Is something the matter? You seem upset."

"Not sure how much I like being the bad cop," she muttered.

"But you perform the role so well! Far better than I could, at least. I'm afraid my eyes aren't nearly as horrifying anymore unless one has a fear of blind people."

"Whatever. Why did we even go after him? Only that guy was on the list you got." She turned to the building, "Speaking of, he mentioned a kid..."

"Better for our new interested friend to deal with that?"

"You kept mentioning that. Who's this friend?"

"I think he's talking about me."

Just in time. Matt tilted his head slightly in greeting as Ms. Moon walked down the length of the alley towards them. Ms. Watson froze on the spot and, if he could see expressions, he could surmise she must've been cycling through varying degrees of shock, fear, shame and anger; the last of which would've been directed towards him for his duplicity.

To be fair, he only promised he wouldn't tell Peter and Ms. Moon.

"C-Cindy, what are you..."

"Got a call from the D.A that I'd find something interesting here. Gotta admit this wasn't what I was expecting." She crossed her arms and stared at Ms. Watson, completely ignoring him, "Didn't realize you two were partnering up. Do Gwen and Peter know?"

"N-No, and don't tell them!" He almost laughed at the sudden about face. Gone was the cold vigilante killer and in her place was a desperate young woman scared of disappointing her friends, "This is...I was-"

"Guessing that dead body up there's cause of you?" Ms. Watson hesitated before eventually nodding. Ms. Moon sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, "I thought Gwen was trying to wean you off of that?"

"She is..."

"Well she's not doing a very good job." Her words might have come out far harsher than she intended given how Ms. Watson flinched, "Look, I can't exactly call you out since I'm friends with Pete and we both know what he gets up to, but Gwen knows about him. You're hiding this from them, and your partner here isn't exactly who I'd pick." She finally turned her head to acknowledge him.

"I'm not doing this with him because I want to..."

"So someone's forcing you to do this? He's blackmailing you?" Even without sight he could feel her glare.

"Not...no, he's not." Huh, he halfway expected she'd throw him under the bus, "This isn't...we're trying to find the people connected to that bastard Arcade-"

"And killing them." Another nod and another sigh, "Cindy, just let me-"

"Explain? Explain what? That you're going behind Gwen's back to go on a vigilante killing spree with Matt Murdock, of all people?" Ms. Watson flinched once more, "I am the last person to call you out considering the things I've done, and not to mention the fact that I'm friends with a cat burglar and a mercenary, but neither of them were doing things behind people's backs. Gwen has no idea you're doing this."

"I'll...I was planning to tell her." Not the whole truth and yet not a whole lie, "Eventually. It's just...how the hell am I supposed to bring it up?"

"Maybe you shouldn't have done it in the first place?"

Ms. Watson didn't respond to that and simply swung away without another word. Ms. Moon's posture stiffened, debating on whether to follow after her or not, before she decided it wasn't worth it.

Ms. Moon sucked in a breath through her teeth and faced him now, "Why'd you call me here? Cause I swear if it's just case you wanted me to find out Blake used prostitutes I swear I'll hurt you."

"You might find it interesting to know that he was spying on your activities. He made a phone call about your recent capture of one of Jack-o-Lantern's fans?"

"Really? Him?"

"It's often the ones we most often overlook." He hummed, "I thought you'd like to know. From what Karen gathered it seems as if he's connected to those who would wish you harm."

"Hm...I'll check it out. Oh, and one other thing." She webbed the gun from his hands and pulled it towards her without warning. He didn't get a chance to make a remark on it when she pointed it towards him, her finger on the trigger, "If you hurt Mary Jane I will kill you. There won't be any drama or speeches, you'll be dead and I won't even feel bad. Are we clear?"

"As well as we can be given the circumstances." He held up his hands in mock surrender and grinned, "Though, I feel I should clarify that she's doing this of her own free will. I didn't force her into anything and I doubt I ever could given her abilities."

Ms. Moon grunted and pocketed the revolver. Blackmail material was always good, "...You wanted me to find out about her doing this. Why? Think I'll tell Pete and Gwen for you?"

"I highly doubt they'd believe it if it came from mouth." He shrugged, "Tell them if you wish. Or don't. At the end of the day Ms. Watson's an adult and she's capable of making her own choices; and that includes the consequences that come from said choices."

"God damn it, why do I always get stuck with this?"

"You complain and yet I'm sure you'll help her. After tonight and you keeping her secret I'm sure she'll see you as a confidant of sorts."

"...You planned for that, didn't you?"

"Hm? I have no idea what you're talking about. Now if you'll excuse me I have to meet Peter and the rest of our little ragtag group." He attached the end of the billie club to the nearby roof and swung away, leaving Ms. Moon to stew on her new responsibilities.

* * *

**LastGraveDigger: **So serious question, but why did **Spider-Woman** and** Spider-Man** work together? All respect to the guy but it's pretty clear that Spider-Woman's WAY stronger than he is so she really doesn't need his help.

**Lolrus555:** Not everythings about strength man. Spider-Woman said before that her investigation skills aren't the best so it makes sense that she relied on someone else for that. Apparently Peter Parker was always smart.

**Veredis:** That and it's not like he's helpless -embedded video- This was footage someone took of him and the Defenders fighting demons in Hells Kitchen. And according to the Black Cat Interviews Spider-Man was _blind _when they did this.

**KasugaRomio:** That and he's one of the few heroes who fights the supernatural along with **Moon Knight **and **Fire Biker**. **Black Cat **confirmed she and the rest of the Defenders were just there cause they hated Murdock not to fight demons.

**LastGraveDigger:** Speaking of anyone notice that there are _way_ more demons and Vampires and shit running around? Did a hellgate open while I wasn't looking?

**Veredis:** Murdock said in an interview that the demon possessing him kept people from seeing them. Now that he's gone everyone else is out in the open.

**KasugaRomio:** What we really need are more heroes who can fight them. I mean fucking look at this** \- embedded image-** That's Moon Knight _punching ghosts_! Love to see Captain America do that...

* * *

**Done. I'll admit I enjoyed writing the second part more than the first, although it ended up feeling rather flat since I had to tone down the corrupt cop's segments to fit a bit more with the T rating. I also re-wrote his character so he ended up having some standards rather than being a complete asshole who was willing to sleep with kids. **

**That and it's been a while since I wrote someone so cynical and assholish so I wanted to try again. May write more of these types of segments dependent on the reception and my mood.**

**As for the new baby symbiote (name still pending), I based it off of Gortys from Borderlands and Jarro from Justice League. Whether it comes off as cute or really damn annoying depends on you.**

**Questions:**

**1\. Not sure if I asked this before, but why exactly did you guys vote for Laura? Is it really just cause 'she's smol' and nothing else? **

**2\. I wonder if you guys would've preferred if Cindy remained naive and childish like when I first introduced her or if you guys prefer her more cynical, dour characterization now. Essentially she went from being a less strict Gwen (original personality) to a less assholish Noir (new personality).**

**3\. Do you guys miss/want more of the arguments Noir and Gwen had before or do you prefer their much more stable relationship now?**

**Review Answers:**

**Alexthesouthparkghostrider: Peter can't bond to symbiotes, remember? Magic and Science don't mix.**

**Brave2000 - I'm planning something with it. I wanna explore how the Hand treats children...**

**SpiderGod766 - Something tells me Gwen wouldn't wanna name her new symbiote baby Scorn.**

**LastGraveDigger - Kirby...something to consider.**

**Anti-W.T.F - The tweeter segments can be safely skipped since it's just me taking the piss. As for Punisher, his screentime got shafted hard when the Defenders membership expanded. Originally he was supposed to be Peter's sort-of mentor the same way Captain America was going to be Gwen's. Because of Lana and Bullseye his plot importance got cut to the point he was just an extra gun.**

**As for Howard, he might appear soon. Depends if I can fit him in. Also, team battle? The Defenders did it last chapter.**

**ToastyIce - Accident? Uh...no, I really doubt Gwen or Venom would call it that.**

**JediRecall - Hey, a new reader :) Hope you keep reading and reviewing :D**

**Rc48177 - Been getting your reviews lately :) You really seem fond of Moon Knight. Also, you don't find Gwen's overprotective behavior annoying?**

**The Red Ghost22 - Spider-Boi Noir's gonna be a hoot to write, if only for the mental image alone. Sadly he promised Gwen he wouldn't smoke...though whiskey's not off the table.**


	28. New Adventures

**This chapter's shorter than normal but review for the exams really has me swamped and I can't focus. It's also mostly setup, so hopefully the next chapter lives up to what I'm going for here.**

**Anyway, a part of me is really looking back on the Noir/Gwen ship given the new arguments people have made that Gwen might be aromantic in canon. Too late to do anything about it now but it might've been fun to tackle the idea of that kind of personality. **

**By the way, I put up a new poll on the authors page. This one's more lighthearted and more of a curiosity thing. **

* * *

_"Welcome back to just the facts with J. Jonah Jameson. Now I've been getting a lot of 'tweets' asking me what my opinion is on those two menaces splitting up. People expect, not unjustifiably, that I have a well thought out opinion given my focus on both of their crimes."_

_"Well, here's what I think about it: NOTHING! And do you know why? Because I don't concern myself with the lovelives of two no good criminals! Now I will admit that I told my viewers of my SLIGHT sympathy for Spider-Man given Spider-Woman's deviancy, but I simply wanted to warn the public to keep their children safe from that masked jezebelle! It doesn't mean I care about 'ships' or any other nonsense the youth of today care about!"_

_"So Spider-Man and Spider-Woman broke up, what does it matter? They're still menaces and they're still going around thinking themselves above the law and the people they claim to protect! Until they go to the proper authorities with mask in hand I'll continue my thankless work of exposing them as the menaces they are! Frankly it makes me sad knowing that of all things people focus on it's that these two criminals aren't making kissy faces anymore!"_

_"Now, we should focus on actual news. According to eyewitness testimony Spider-Man's new group of deviants KIDNAPPED A CHILD! Now I think..."_

* * *

"You seem cheery."

Matt looked down and grinned while Peter glared up at him, arms crossed and eyes narrowed. The both of them were at their designated rooftop waiting for Echo to finally show herself after she'd skipped out last time. A short distance away was Moon Knight and Rand, the former with his eyes glued to a tablet while the latter tried (and failed) to meditate.

"Oh?" Matt drawled lazily, "You can tell that?"

"Yeah, and I know that's not a good sign." The blind bastard only smiled when someone else was suffering. Nowadays he kept it to the dregs of humanity but he couldn't ignore the idea of him slipping back, "Who'd you kill?"

"Peter, I am offended at the notion that you think I have to kill someone in order to find enjoyment in life!" He said, voice high with mock offense. Peter just looked at him flatly, "But if you must know I've been out and about with a delightful young woman."

"It doesn't count if you have to pay for it, Matt."

Matt, as expected, just laughed at that. He had to admit he found it more than a little annoying that nothing ever seemed to faze the blind bastard, "Bold of you to assume our relationship is in that nature. No, no, I'm certain that she hates me." And yet he was still smiling. Peter wanted to punch him in the face again but he knew that he'd still smile on top of that.

"I feel sorry for whoever has to put up with you..."

"It's a mutually beneficial agreement, though I suspect that'll soon come to an end now that she's found a new confidant." He smirked and played with the escrima stick with one hand, "But why are we only discussing my relationships? After all you're the one who's part of New York's premier Super couple. Or was, given your fake break-up. Tell me, how are you and Miss. Stacy doing?"

"That's none of your business."

"Oh? And here I was worried about you. Considering your current condition I wondered how you and Ms. Stacy handled the physical aspects of your so-called ended relationship."

"...What the hell are you suggesting?"

Was he seriously...

"Suggesting? Me? I would never!" He gasped dramatically, "I'm simply expressing my friendly concern that perhaps Ms. Stacy might be taking advantage of you. Love, after all, is blind and given how she often wears her heart on her sleeve I wouldn't be surprised if her feelings for you overcame her reluctance at your new state. True love conquers all, hm?"

He was.

If looks could kill then Peter's glare wouldn't have even left behind a corpse to bury. Matt leaned back on the vent and grinned smugly while Peter looked a hair's breath from taking out his pistol (loaned from Moon Knight) and shooting him between the eyes. Even Moon Knight and Rand stopped to look, the former looking between the two of them warily while the latter alternated between concern and disgust at Matt's suggestion.

"I'm simply worried about you, Peter. We've all heard Jameson's rants on her deviancy-"

Peter unholstered his gun and shot him right in the chest. It was a warning shot - the caliber was low and he aimed at where the body armor was thickest - but he knew it'd leave a nasty bruise at least. Matt fell off the vent and landed on his back, wheezing slightly before laughing again and making another terrible joke. None of them bothered to help him up, not even Rand.

Thankfully they didn't have to wait long for Echo to arrive. She landed on the roof with a graceful flip and stopped when she caught sight of him. They hadn't told her about his condition, though that was mostly because he figured that she wouldn't care. Nothing ever seemed to faze her.

"Good, you're finally here." He stepped off the pipe and jerked his thumb to Moon Knight, "Spector's looking for a new in we might have and a couple of us need to interrogate Sowande so-"

He was cut off when she suddenly crouched down (damn he was short...) in front of him and poked his right cheek. He hadn't bothered to wear a mask just yet and the narrow glare he sported was clear for all to see. Despite that the quiet woman's only response was to tilt her head slightly and poke his cheek again while Matt snickered behind them.

She tried to go for a third when he batted away her hand, "What the hell are you doing?"

"She's simply curious, Peter," Matt said, "Children are used by the Hand, certainly, but they're often kept in different locations till they reach their teenage years. I was one of the few exceptions given my abilities. Even then we never had much contact."

He finally managed to push her off before he turned to Matt, "Contact? You're saying you're the same age?" That didn't match. She looked like a teenager, maybe a few years past 20 if they pushed it.

"Oh no, I assume she's much older than I am. Don't be fooled by her appearance. While I can't make out her physical features due to my condition, I assure you that she's more than old enough to match the Parkers or the former Captain Stacy."

"Let me guess: Chi?" He wasn't even surprised anymore. If Stick could move like that at the ripe young age of 106 then someone like Echo shouldn't have been a surprise. He really should've figured it out sooner.

"That and some combination of her status as the Black Sky, which is why I was surprised at her turning against the Hand so soon. At first I believed that she thought you could free her from her binds, but then I realized she had less self-centered reasons. Such as family."

Echo turned to Matt, her narrowed eyes obvious even through her mask, but made no move to do anything else. Both Peter and Rand looked at Matt questioningly while Moon Knight grunted and paid them no mind, "You weren't curious why she wasn't present the night prior?"

"Lana told me that she helped her rescue that friend of hers." He still had no idea why, but he owed her for that.

"Yes, well, it's common for parents to come to their child's rescue, isn't it?"

It didn't take long for the words to sink in, "Child? ...You're saying that Aracely girl is-"

"Her daughter, yes." Matt hummed, "I can only assume that the Hand were unaware of that fact or simply didn't care when they had a hand, pun intended, in imprisoning her with the rest of those poor people down at the docks. I doubt it's a coincidence that she chose to ally with us shortly after your adopted sister rescued her daughter. If it were anyone else who came to her rescue I doubt she'd be here now."

Peter turned back to the quiet ninja, "Does she know?" A pause then a brief shake of the head, "...Do you plan to tell her?" Another shake, "So I'm guessing that means you don't want us to tell her either."

He didn't need a reply to that. Iron Fist frowned and stood, "But why? Maybe I don't know enough to say so, but wouldn't she be happy to find out her mother's alive? I mean Moon Knight's back together with Wasp and they have a daughter together."

"Not everything ends up happily, Daniel," Spector said, still not looking up from the screen, "While I and Janet are attempting to reconcile our previous relationship Hope has lived without a father for the first 9 years of her life and is obviously reluctant to start a relationship now. I expect that we will never truly bond as family given the almost decade we've spent apart and I assume that the same will occur if Echo makes overtures to a mother-daughter bond."

"But..."

"Take it from me, Danny - absence doesn't really make the heart grow fonder. My mother and I are more than enough proof of that." Matt said.

"We're wasting time here." Peter frowned and looked to Moon Knight, "Are you done with whatever that is?"

"Yes." He dismissed the screen and moved to join them, "I have been in contact with Maria Hill. She is currently working with the FBI and they're investigating some of the Hand's assets."

"And here I was hoping Hill choked on a lemon when I wasn't looking." Admittedly he didn't have as much of a grudge against the former agent as one might've expected. He still wasn't a fan after what she did to him and being complicit with hiding the truth but after S.H.I.E.L.D's (sort of) confession and public dissolution he found it hard to keep the anger up.

"And what does the former agent tell us?" Matt asked.

"Currently they're investigating the Hand's human trafficking operations. Different Fingers gather from different pools but a decent size of the Hand's forces come from victims whose minds they break." Yeah, he knew that already. The only reason that he hadn't been crushed by the guilt was because he also knew that the change was permanent. Once their minds were broken there was nothing left but puppet for the Hand to manipulate.

"The Hand are monsters, we already knew that. What does that have to do with our current plan?"

"Children are one of the most sought after resources." Moon Knight stared down at him and Peter immediately understood, "While the broken puppets are numerous they are just that - puppets. Little use beyond tossing at enemies till they expire. They have no intelligence, no creativity, and that makes them limited. A child that has been indoctrinated, however..."

"All of the loyalty, none of the diminished use." Matt laughed under his breath, "But of course that leads to the possibility of them turning against you such as Echo and even myself, to an extent. Evidently they consider it a worthy enough investment to keep at it."

"I'm guessing you want me to play the part of a new 'investment'?" Peter asked.

"Yes. The Hand know our faces now, but your unexpected transformation could be a boon. We could plant you into one of their shipping containers while you play the part of the innocent victim. You will have to play your role and gather information. Safehouses, assets, anything we can use to track them down. We will have minimal contact with you until extraction."

"I'm not sure I like this idea," Rand said, "We're putting Spider-Man into a lot of risk with this. And if you know where one of their containers is why don't we just save the kids?"

"Because even finding this one container took Maria Hill months of investigations and interrogations. We can rescue those children tonight, but there will be dozens if not hundreds more that are shipped to the Hand's waiting clutches. If Spider-Man should succeed here then we can put a stop to this operation, cutting off both a source of the Hand's forces and saving any future victims."

"The needs of the many, huh?" Spider-Man sighed. He saw the logic in it, but he wasn't much a fan of the idea of going days pretending to be the victim, "Guessing you'll inject me with those nano codec things Cin has?"

"Correct. A reminder that you should only contact us in order to relay info or in the case of an emergency. Echo and Matthew will track the vans while Iron Fist and I will stay in order to interrogate Sowande."

"Don't suppose you'll give me some time to tell my friends not to worry?" The last thing he needed was Lana or Gwen panicking and breaking down doors once he went three days without contact.

"Be quick about it. The shipping container will be emptied soon."

Peter rolled his eyes and made a group call. All of them answered except for Mary, which he didn't think too much about. Probably off doing her 'side job'. He explained it as quickly as he could- going undercover, cutting off contact for at least a few days, the works. Gwen and Lana, as expected, were rather put off while Cindy and Norah just told him to be careful and take pictures, respectively.

"Listen, I really have to go." It was just him and Gwen now, "I'll be fine, okay?"

"I still don't like this. I mean I'd get it if you were going undercover while you're normal, but as a 7 year old? I know you still have your powers, but..."

"I didn't help kill a demon just to get taken out by his toadies. I'll be fine." He smiled at her, "Besides, you're the one who's going to deal with Roxxon, remember? Compared to that this is gonna be easy."

"Not so sure about that..."

"Just trust me. I love you."

"I love you too."

He cut the call and made his way back to the others, "Say a single word and I'm putting the next bullet through your mouth, Matt." The Devil of Hell's Kitchen held up his hands in mock surrender and didn't say another word, "Alright, gimme the injection. Let's get this over with."

Moon Knight handed him the syringe and he injected it to his neck with a slight wince. He hated needles, "Right, anything else we need?"

"It will look more believable if you showed signs of injury. The Hand often take the desperate and those who they believe will be open to their indoctrination."

And then he pulled out a knife. Peter just sighed and took the offered blade. If he slept it'd heal, but he wasn't planning on it. Wouldn't have been the first time he didn't sleep for days on end.

"Anyone says anything they're getting shot. You too, Rand." He dug the knife through his upper left arm and hissed. The cut wasn't too deep, but it was enough to look nasty. Rand looked distinctly sick and turned away. Peter didn't blame him. He might've had the stomach for it if Peter had been normal but seeing a 7 year old cut himself with a knife wasn't something most people could look at.

The the next one went to his right cheek down to his jaw. Peter grit his teeth to keep from saying anything and made a two final cuts, one at the right side of his stomach and another at the left half of his forehead, "Oh, I think I'm going to be sick." Rand covered his mouth with one hand and looked a hair's breath away from heaving his dinner. Moon Knight, Echo and Matt (of course) just watched.

"This good enough?" He looked up at Moon Knight with a glare, which must've looked even worse considering his bloody state.

"It is adequate." He took the knife back and turned his attention to Echo, "Help Spider-Man sneak into the cargo container. No deaths; we cannot risk any suspicion falling to us."

Echo nodded and offered him a hand. Peter stared blankly at the offered limb before he sneered and turned invisible. He might've looked like a kid now but he was still Spider-Man, damn it.

* * *

**Private Message:**

**FlowersForAll: ** **FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman, **we'd like to sincerely thank you again for visiting our Joey at the hospital two weeks ago. He was so happy he got to meet with his hero.

**FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman**: Oh hey! :) Yeah it was really cool to hang out with him. When can I visit him next? I want to congratulate him on his treatment and show him that mask I got him! I had a friend of mine help me with it ;)

**FlowersForAll:** I'm afraid that's not possible. There were complications with the next batch of surgery a couple of days ago and he...

**FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman:** Oh...I am so sorry. Things were going so well last time and I thought that...

**FlowersForAll:** Yes, it was a surprise to us too. It...I know I'm asking for a lot, but we're going to be having a funeral and we were hoping that you could attend. We'll understand if that's not possible, of course.

**FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman:** I'm definitely coming. Just message me the date and time and I'll be there, you have my word.

**FlowersForAll:** Thank you. Again I know we're asking for a lot but we promised him you'd come visit again after the surgery and I thought that this would be the least we could do.

**FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman: **I understand. Don't worry, Mrs. Sanchez, I'll be there.

* * *

Norah scooted back on her chair and yawned, rubbing her eyes idly with one hand. Another day and another scoop that left her feeling like the overworked intern. Not that she was complaining, mind you. Robbie gave her mostly free reign once he figured out that she could get scoops and didn't kill anyone...directly. Self-defense was self-defense and she'd been on the firing range a lot.

It'd been a day since Ben went undercover and so far things had been pretty slow. She didn't even get a chance to make fun of him cause of how serious the call was...

"Here." Gabe put a cup of coffee on the table and and smiled shyly.

"Thanks." Norah smiled back and took a sip of the caffeinated goodness. She still kinda felt guilty having the kid around her so much. Most teenagers were out having fun with friends, breaking the rules and whatever, not cooped up in a journalist's apartment researching ancient ninjas and crime rings. Least she could give the kid a glowing recommendation on any resume he had.

"Any luck on your end? I've been hitting dead ends?"

"Nah." She gestured to the screen, "Rumors and whispers, but nothing concrete. My guys on the street are pretty tight lipped too. Something's got them scared." Not that that was hard to do. Druggies and bums knew a lot but they weren't exactly willing to put their neck out most of the time.

"Yeah, me either. Eugene's been looking around too but he hasn't gotten anything."

"Oh really? _Such_ a shock there." She snorted and rolled her eyes. It wasn't that she hated Frog-Man or anything, but the guy was pretty damn annoying at the best of times. She didn't worry too much about him. Anyone with half a brain would figure he was harmless (useless) enough and wouldn't bother going after him. She worried about Gabe, though.

"Yeah..." He rubbed the back of his head and shifted his feet awkwardly, "So...d'you mind if I ask for some advice?"

"Sure. Something with 'work'?"

"Um...no, it's actually personal."

"Oooh, is it about that crush you have on Lana?" The tan teenager's cheeks turned red and Norah grinned, "Yup, I know about that. I see all and know all." That and Lana mentioned it off-hand a while ago, but Gabe didn't need to know that.

"Y-Yeah- actually, it's kinda half in half." He sat down across her and lifted Benjamin to his lap, "Aracely kinda made things awkward when she just...blurted out all of our secrets." Lana told her about that too. It was how she found out Gabe and apparently MVP liked her. She took it rather well, all things considered, "So she told everyone that I liked Lana but then she also said that..."

"That Sue Storm liked you." If she was as morally bankrupt as Katzenburg she would've been through the moon. She could see the headlines now - 'America's Sweetheart likes former drug dealer'. Tabloids and fansites would've eaten that crap up, "Thought you'd be thrilled. Fanboys would kill to be where you're at."

"I dunno. I mean Sue's really pretty and she's a good person, but...we haven't really talked about it since Aracely brought it up. We still hang out and all but there's this...awkward feeling in the air, you know? The only one who don't act like anything's weird are Lana and Aracely."

"To be fair Lana did have to go through the mess that was last year. Pretty sure finding out your friend had a crush on you is pretty low on the things that'll shock you." Not to mention she had(?) a crush on a guy who slept with her mom, but she didn't tell Gabe that.

"I guess. I dunno, I just...I wanna get rid of that awkward feeling in the air. I miss just hanging out and having fun again."

"You can't rush these things. Trust me, I've been there and if you try to push too hard you'll end up going over the edge. Just take it slow and talk about it when you're all ready." She smiled and took Benjamin from his lap, "Now, if you'll excuse me I've gotta go shopping. Benjamin's particularly picky about his kibble and you do _not _want to see him when he pouts."

The nearby 24 hour mall (courtesy of Tony Stark, cause of course it was) was an all too familiar haunt. She grabbed one of the red baskets and Benjamin immediately took step beside her, "Meet you at the usual spot?" He barked happily then skidded off to the pet food section. Norah had already given up trying to figure out why he was so damn smart and well trained considering his last owner was Ben.

She was in the middle of picking out some new easy-bake meals when he came trotting back with a bag of kibble his mouth. He nudged it over the basket and looked up at her with his trademark puppy dog eyes, "I don't like that look you're giving me." He zipped out and came back with another, far more expensive brand. And more puppy dog eyes.

"Geez, Benjy, you think I'm made of money or something?" He whimpered and looked like he was about to cry. She sighed and tossed it into the basket, "We really gotta get your dad to pay child support." He barked happily and took the basket by his teeth when she put the last of her groceries in. They both made their way to the cashier, who was not at all surprised to see a dog nudging a basket and then a wallet onto the counter.

She was barely out of the store when her phone rang. An unknown number, "Hello?"

"Norah Winters." Her grip on the phone tightened at the sound of the digitized voice. Never a good sign, "You've been looking into our dealings."

"You're gonna have to be a bit more specific there Mr. Voicechanger. I butt into a lot of people's business, it's kind of my thing." She already hit the SOS button on her spare phone and started walking again. Had to buy time.

"You get one warning: Back off. We won't ask a second time."

"Aww, and here I was hoping we could get to know each other better. I like to get personal with the people threatening me."

The call ended. Norah looked down at the empty screen and sneered. This was just what she needed... "Hey, Gabe? Yeah, I gotta go away for a few. Yeah, you know what. Be careful, okay?" She shut off her phone and started making her way to Frank's nearest safehouse. Best thing to do was hole herself up for a bit then call the others.

It didn't take long for her to see the person behind her. He stuck out like a sore thumb - finely pressed blue suit, slicked back hair and shoes that barely had any stains...definitely not someone who spent a lot of time in the Kitchen. He kept pace with her easily and as the seconds ticked by he got closer and closer.

She ran as soon as she rounded the corner with Benjamin following. The guy immediately ran after her and she dropped some pellets behind her. The small, metal capsules hissed before expelling a thick plume of smoke, "Woah!" Bullets whizzed by her head and she took the revolver out of her bag. As soon as she caught a hint of blue she pulled the trigger twice and kept running.

More bullets came from the left. Benjamin yelped and she barely managed to duck into the alley before more bullets came. She counted at least two more suited hitmen chasing after her, "Seriously? All this just for me? I'm flattered!" She shouted back.

Three more goons came out on the other side of the alley before a red blur took them out. Must've been MJ. She barely had time to scream out a 'thanks!' before she crashed through the side door and ran down the stairs, "Come on, come on..." She yanked the keypad's lock away and input the code as quick as she could, "Damn it Frank, did you have to make these so damn long?!"

The door opened with a click and a gunshot rang out. The hitman behind her fell down the stairs with a hole through his head while in front of her...

"Frank?"

Frank Castle - The Punisher - lowered his pistol and looked down at her. He didn't look all that different from when she saw him last. Same skull shirt, same messy beard and same scowl. Only thing that caught her eye were the new scars dotted across his face.

"Getting into trouble again."

"Look who's talking." Despite how quick her heart was beating she pushed him back inside and locked the door behind her once Benjamin was in. MJ could deal with the rest outside, "Didn't realize you were even back in town." In all honesty she didn't think she'd ever actually see him again. From all appearances it looked like he was set to making Mexico his new permanent haunt.

"Wasn't advertising."

"Right...so, why are you here? Thought you were in Mexico?"

"Murdock called me." Well..._that_ wasn't what she expected to hear, "Thought about coming back just to kill him, but he made a decent enough argument. I have bigger targets to focus on than a collared ex-lawyer. Like the people you're searching for."

Right...something told her the Punisher's comeback wasn't going to end well.

* * *

**ArkT:** **Spider-Man's** been MIA for a couple of days now. Is he really that bummed about the breakup?

**Noisy-Cricket: **Must be. I mean I'd be pretty bummed if I broke up with** Spider-Woman**.

**SpiderGod766:** Bet he's really regretting it.

**ThatGeekyGuy:** Why's everyone assuming it's cause of the breakup? He was active before he and Spider-Woman got together and he and the Defenders raided that building a couple of days. Maybe he's off doing hero shit like he usually does?

**Lolrus555:** But he broke up with Spider-Woman! That must mean everything he does now is defined by that breakup! /s

**Brave2000:** Yeah i gotta agree. He and Spider-Woman broke up so what? A lot of people break up and most of em don't let it get to them that much. Ya'll acting like its the end of the world. So dumb.

**JediRecall:** I'm more worried about how dangerous he'll be. It was pretty obvious that Spider-Woman kept him on a leash. Now that he's gone what the fucks he gonna start doing?

**Lolrus555:** A leash? Dude killed a fuckload of ninjas and put down a down in Times Square. And you must've seen some of the pics of him fighting that warlord in South Africa. If she kept him on a leash it was a shitty one.

**ThatGeekyGuy:** Yeah anyone who says Spider-Woman was keeping him tied down is talking out of their ass. Dude's a killer.

* * *

She was so _bored_.

Laura looked up at the ceiling and swung her legs idly. Shadowcat had taken her to visit Wasp both for her daily check up (they needed to make sure the code phrases were still suppressed) and because Shadowcat did the occasional job for the Dr. Superhero. Shadowcat never told her what the jobs were and she didn't ask. She just assumed there was a lot of blood involved.

Right now she was outside while Shadowcat and Wasp talked. Hope was still at school so now she was just bored again. She wished Peach and Spot were here, "Bored..." She finally stood and wandered around aimlessly. Dad, Felicity and Gene had already gone back and she already missed them. Why couldn't the stupid man with the red skull die already so her dad could stay here?

Sighing for the hundredth time that hour, she made her way to Hope's room and and smiled when she caught the familiar scents inside. Hope's room always felt different than the other places. Wasp's labs always felt so cold and sterile - just like the facility there the monsters tortured her. Hope's room felt comfy.

She jumped on the bed and heard a loud squeak. Her head snapped to the source of the voice and something whizzed by her, "Laura!" She blinked at the three inch tall Hope flying in front of her, "What are you doing here?"

"Shadowcat is visiting and she took me along." Hope's shrunken state didn't surprise her. She did it often and with great enjoyment in order to fly, "I thought you were at school?"

"We got suspended cause of something the teacher did, but I didn't wanna tell mom." She looked around conspiratorially (a word they taught her at school) and flew in closer. Laura had to cross her eyes to see the grin on her face, "Mom's hiding something! Gwen and the others were here and I bet she made the new baby, but mom wouldn't let me see it even after I promised to be careful!"

"A baby?" Laura looked at her with interest. He found infants fascinating, if only because they were so different from everything else. All her life she'd grown up surrounded by adults, many of whom wished to hurt her and she was bred to kill. Even Shadowcat acted far older than her 19 years. Babies were innocent. They cried and demanded and acted spoiled, but they didn't have malice.

"Yeah! Well, not like you and me were, but still a baby!"

"What do you wish to do?"

"I wanna see it, duh!" She rolled her eyes exaggeratedly, "Mom won't let us in if we just ask her so I'll sneak us inside. We can totally be in and out before she sees a thing!"

"Let's do it then." Laura nodded.

A few minutes later both she and Hope were shrunk to under a few inches in height and with her best friend carrying her by the armpits through one of the vents, "Mom said we're only supposed to use the vents in case of an emergency, so don't tell her anything!" Laura hummed, "I wonder what Gwen's baby is like. She said she was already talking!"

"Already?"

"Yeah, apparently symbiotes learn to talk super fast!" Symbiote? Like the one the hooded Spider wore? Odd, she didn't know they made babies, "Gwen said it was nice so I really wanna talk to it. They even said they were looking for a partner for it like Gwen and Webster are."

The room wasn't empty when they got there. There was a man there dressed head to toe in a black, airtight suit standing in front of the baby's enclosure. Hope re-grew them and they hid behind a nearby cabinet, "Who is that?" Lana whispered. Hope shook her head and didn't say a word, but she was obviously scared by the sudden intruder, "Bad guy?"

"I think so..."

Laura narrowed her eyes looked to the camera on the wall. Hope likely hadn't even considered the idea of getting caught, but the man's confidence indicated he was either similarly short-sighted or he'd already dealt with it beforehand, "Oooh, come to papa!" He started reaching for the retreating pink blob. Laura unsheathed her claws - the first time she'd done so in almost a year - and stalked closer to her target.

Down the line she'd blame what happened next on dulled instincts. Shadowcat had ensured she had no need to fight for the past year, almost violently so. _'You deserve a chance to be a kid. You still wanna be fucked up and kill people when you're older, fine, but we'll deal with that later'_, she said. And so her training had rusted to the back of her mind. She still remembered, yes, but lack of practice made it difficult to fall back to old habits.

And so she didn't even realize the hint of her reflection on the glass encasing before it was too late.

Laura slashed at his right leg to disable him. He suddenly shrunk out of sight and her claws only hit air. Before she could double back he re-grew to his previous size and uppercutted her in the jaw, "Almost got me there!" She growled and slashed at him again, and again he shrunk out of sight before suddenly appearing behind her. Laura spun around to kick and he shrunk to just an inch below the attack's arc.

His next punch sent her reeling to the table. Laura crashed against the enclosure and it fell to the ground with a loud impact. An alarm immediately blared out and he sighed, "Great, see what you gone and did? You got any idea how long I've been planning for this? The bossman ain't gonna be happy-"

Hope flew at his back and tackled him. He stumbled forward slightly, which gave Laura a chance to cut his throat and stab him in the stomach. Despite his injuries he shrunk once more and when Laura looked around she found no trace of him. She sniffed the air and frowned. The trail of blood led to the vents and ended there.

The door opened and both Shadowcat and Wasp charged in, claws and weapons raised, only to stop when they saw their states. Hope was hugging Laura tightly and asking if she was alright while she could only pat her back and reassure her. Mostly she felt embarrassed. She knew she hadn't fought in a while but to think she'd been so clumsy. If she'd been fighting against the machine men they would have done far worse than a couple of hits.

Hope frantically explained the situation to her mother while Shadowcat simply sighed, "I leave you alone for 15 minutes and you already get into trouble."

"I got that from you." Laura beamed up at her. Shadowcat didn't scold her, not really. In the year they've spent together she complained and they argued but one thing she was adamant about was that she wasn't her mother. They were sisters, and that meant she wouldn't mother her.

"Yeah, sure, be cute. Just wait till Cin and Petey hear about this." She grinned evilly.

"But-"

"No buts. Now lets get yours back home before you somehow manage to blow this whole place up."

Laura grumbled and pouted as she followed Shadowcat outside. She didn't even realize the pink blob that stuck to her back and sunk into her skin before it was already gone.

* * *

**rc48177:** **Spinerette** I know you get asked this a lot, but what are the actual chances of you ending up with Spider-Man? A lot of people are really curious since you two seem to be good friends.

**TheRedGhost22:** Dude what makes you think she's gonna reply to that?

**rc48177:** Couldn't hurt to ask.

**Spinerette:** I've said it once and I'll say it again - less than ZERO. He's like a little brother to me. And I mean that literally since he's like ten years younger than I am. Why can't people be friends without everyone prying into it? Is this dimension just obsessed with people's love lives?

**ToastyIce:** To be fair you guys seemed really close and similar. Made more sense than him and Spider-Woman.

**Spinerette:** Since when are relationships sensible or how similar people are? My old boyfriend didn't like old comic books or video games like me but we got along great. He and Spider-Woman had their fights but there was something there.

**Eragen:** Emphasis on was considering their explosive breakup.

**Spinerette:** Doesn't mean I'm suddenly gonna be a cougar. I'm pushing 30 guys, I'm not gonna go after someone who isn't even old enough to drink.

**AlexTheSouthParkGhostRider:** So what's your type then? ;)

**Spinerette:** Not you.

**ToastyIce:** Lol rekt.

* * *

**The scene with Laura and the symbiote was originally going to be different. In the first plan she and the symbiote would've talked and Laura eventually agreed to sneak it out after seeing how lonely it was. I took this out since I couldn't figure out a way for Laura to sneak it without getting caught by cameras. Having an intruder and it latching on in the panic solved that problem.**

**So yeah, Laura won the symbiote poll :/ My original choice was going to be that it attached to Helena during a dangerous situation, meaning it'd be a unique entity since the baby and the symbiote would've grown up together from almost birth. That and you'd have no idea of the family relation since it's Gwen's stepsister bonded with her technical baby. Oh well, maybe Laura can be good too.**

**Anyway so now we have Noir undercover in one of the Hand's indoctrination facilities, Norah running into a newly returned Punisher and Laura having unknowingly bonded to Pink Charlie Chocolate. **

**Questions:**

**1\. Do you guys want to keep MJ's segments as dark as they currently are or do we have it become lighter? She kinda ping pongs between the two dependent on whether she's alone or hanging out with other more lighthearted characters like Gwen or (later on) Frog-Man and Kate.**

**2\. I'm curious, would you guys have kept reading if I didn't take user reviews into account and didn't pair Gwen and Noir/paired Noir off with Norah instead/pairing Gwen with Kate instead?**

**3\. How did you guys feel about Original Noir and Shadowcat back in V1? Cause originally he and Cindy were going to be partners and Shadowcat and Laura were non-entities. Wonder if that would've been better or worse.**

**Review Answers:**

**JediRecall - No, Noir was never in the running as a host given that he can't attach to symbiotes. Also, Matt actually gave MJ a new confidant that might be able to help her; he just went about it poorly.**

**rc48177 - Remember that we almost didn't get Moon Knight since the vote for the fourth Defender was either him, Danny or Luke Cage. Crazy Moon Man won in the end, though.**

**Brave2000 - Peter SHOT Matt in this chapter, so yeah it's a running thing.**

**Lolrus555: Again, apologies for any offense for the way your username might act. It's not an attack, I'm just too lazy to look up names.**

**usernamesarebullshit: Cindy is the sort of link since more often than not she functions as the compromise when it comes to heroes and anti-heroes. Still, she seems to lean towards the anti-hero side nowadays.**

**ThatGeekyGuy - Laura won, so nothing we can do about that. As for the characters being snappy, I figured that made sense considering the stuff they're dealing with. They're pretty nice to each other and those who aren't threatening them.**

**AlexTheSouthParkGhostRider - Something tells me Noir's not the type to let being de-aged stop him from doing his thing. **


	29. The Problem with Kids

**Shorter update, but I just finished Board exam a week ago (passed :D) and I'm currently undergoing another anxiety moment cause of thesis next year (hopefully the medication helps). That and I have a question to ask at the end of the chapter that's pretty important to future updates. **

**This chapter was primarily supposed to focus on Gwen's undercover deal with Roxxon but I decided to postpone that to the next chapter due to a bit of writers block.**

**Also, Matt and Peter getting along has a slight lead over them remaining enemies. Surprising considering the sheer amount of crap Matt put Peter through in V1 and the way he killed Bullseye.**

**Side Note - Noir's confirmed to make a comeback with a new miniseries on March 2020 dealing with WWII. And it's the same one who died in Geddon resurrected! Yes :D**

* * *

**ESUboi:** Ugh, our next science paper's researching how** Spider-Woman**,** Spinerette** or **She-Hulk's** powers work! I'm going to flunk!

**MaleAcademia:** Seriously? I know science is always evolving but this seems super unfair.

**Galgamer**: You're lucky you already graduated **MaleAcademia**. These new research classes and topics are freaking insane! I mean how the hell are we supposed to figure out how a radioactive spider gives you super strength? I don't think even Spider-Woman knows!

**CreamdelaKream: **Yeah honestly at this point we might as well be cavemen trying to explain gravity. Superpowers break all the established rules. Force equals mass times acceleration? What's that? Cause it sure as hell doesn't make any sense when Spinerette can jump up to a building from street level or lift a car despite being way lighter than it.

**GwenTheDrummerStacy:** Guess I'm lucky I'm not taking any science classes. Sounds rough.

**ESUboi:** Yeah seriously. You're lucky **GwenTheDrummerStacy.** If I'd known my degree would be 20% pseudoscience I would've never enrolled in it.

**GwenTheDrummerStacy:** Just keep pushing. Who knows, maybe things will get better :)

* * *

So here he was stuck in a crate with a bunch of passed out kids while his skin throbbed from self-inflicted knife wounds. If he was lucky the disguise would work and they wouldn't ask too many questions. If he was unlucky they'd catch on and shoot him in the face. That wasn't even mentioning the smell of rusted metal or the fact that one of the older kids smelled like she urinated herself.

And yet it was still better than France.

Peter kept his eyes shut and listened. He'd snuck in here a scant two hours ago and so far he had nothing but the sounds of the wheels outside for company. There were other people locked in here with him, some as old as 16 or 17 and others even younger than he was at about 5 or 6. The Hand tried to cast a wide net, Spector said. Better to try with a lot and cut the dead weight down if they couldn't be...molded.

He wondered how the others were doing. Was Gwen out on patrol or already trying to charm that dirtbag Roxxon? Was Mary keeping a clear head? Were Lana and Cindy working together alright? It was silly - they took care of themselves just fine when he spent the year playing the wanderer - but thinking about them helped clear his head. Better than thinking of his 'team' did, at any rate.

Eventually the shaking drew to a stop. Peter adjusted his slumped position on the wall and and resisted the urge to open them. The children were taken from various places, but one thing they all had in common were having enough tranquilizers to take down an elephant.

The door opened with a loud creak and he heard footsteps, "Youngest ones out first." The voice was blank and devoid of all expression. Probably a ninja, "Place them with the others in their rooms." He grit his teeth when one of them grabbed him roughly and slung him over his shoulder. _Play the role,_ he reminded himself. If he was stuck as a kid he'd at least find a way to use it to his advantage.

He counted the number of steps and turns before another door opened and he was eventually dropped not so gently onto a bed. He waited for the goon to turn around before he peeked his eye open by the slightest amount. A wide, brightly lit room with beds stacked into neat rows dozens at a time. Everything was an eye-searing white from the lights to the floor to the walls and bedsheets.

It was a 50/50 shot they'd end up here or in some concrete prison forced to kill each other. Least this way he wouldn't have to kill anyone who didn't deserve it.

The last bed was finally filled and the door slammed shut. Peter kept still and waited for some of the other kids to wake up first. Probably cameras around and the last thing he needed was to draw attention to himself.

'Little movement and lifesigns are stable.' Moon Knight's voice chimed in his head. He ignored it, 'We will continue to monitor the situation. Remember: keep to your cover at any cost. We only have one chance at this.'

Half an hour passed before the first of them finally began to stir, "Wh-What the-" Judging by the sound of the voice it was a teenager. A few more woke up around him and Peter made a show of a groggy awakening.

He counted at least three dozen around him, most of whom showed obvious signs of abuse. Bruises, clammy skin, malnourishment...if it were anyone else he would've thought this was a rescue mission of some kind. Peter eyed the more obvious cut on his arm and frowned. Once they got the information they needed they had to do something about these kids.

As expected, most of them were scared. It didn't take long for them to start screaming, crying and soon the entire room was covered in a cacophony of voices all trying to speak over the other. Peter pressed himself against the bed's headboard and hugged his knees to his chest. Playing the role of the innocent child wouldn't have been his first choice, but he'd done worse.

"Hey, where the fuck are we?!" One of the older girls screamed. She was at least 15 or 16 by the looks of her, "Hey! Let me the fuck out!" She banged against the dark brown door - the only splotch of color in the white canvas, "Hey! This isn't funny you bastards! Let me out!" She kicked the door. It didn't budge.

The younger children around him cried harder when she went and grabbed a boy who looked no older than 10, "Where are we?!" He almost snapped at her to calm down. She was panicking and lashing out at the closest person; he'd seen it more times than he wanted. Still, he couldn't stop himself from feeling annoyed at the idea that she thought a 10 year old could somehow give her the answers she wanted.

"L-Leave him alone!" A girl, another 10 year old, screamed, "W-W-We don't know why we're here!"

"Shut up!" The younger girl shrunk back, "I don't fucking know anything except for the fact that I got kidnapped! So just shut the fuck up unless you got something important to say!"

"B-But-"

It devolved into another argument from there. More screaming, more crying...he wanted to intervene, but Moon Knight's reminder rang back in his head,_ 'Damn it...'_ He pressed his face against his knees and forced a few tears out. He felt as pathetic as he looked. Hopefully it wouldn't take him long to find what he needed then burn this entire place to the ground.

Eventually, when the cacophony reached its peak, the door opened. Peter raised his head slowly and watched a woman enter the room with two goons behind her. Just like the rest of the room they were dressed in complete white, "Good evening everyone." She was a young woman, probably 30 at the oldest, with light blonde hair done up in a neat bun and a motherly smile that reminded him of May.

He didn't trust her at all.

"Who the fuck are you?!" The screaming teenager asked, "Were you the one who kidnapped us?! I'm gonna-"

"Shh." She held up finger like a parent disciplining an unruly child, "There's no need for an outburst, Ellie."

"How the fuck do you know my-"

"We know a lot of things about you. How you came from a broken home, how your foster father attempted to use his position to take advantage of you while your mother told you that you deserve it. And we know you ran away from home when it became too much." Despite her cutting words the motherly smile remained constant.

"Wh-What the-"

"All of you are victims." She went past the screaming teenager and gave them all a look of practiced sympathy, "Children who were never given a chance to live their lives because of the uncaring society around them. You were abused, broken, treated like you were unwanted."

"You kidnapped us." A teenage boy muttered.

She stopped in front of him. Peter looked up at her, tears still in his eyes, and flinched when she traced a hand against his cheek, "P-Please don't hurt me..." He had to stop himself from breaking her fingers when she stopped at one of his scars.

"Do you see?" She turned away from him back to the others, "Kidnapped you? From who? From living in the streets and having to beg for scraps? From parents who would hurt you because they've had too much to drink? From those who would treat you as a _toy_ for their own desires." She looked the teenager - Ellie - dead in the eyes, "Those are who you wish to reunite with?"

None of them said a word, not even the then-screaming teenager. Ultimately she was right about that. Kidnapping or not, many of these children had nowhere to go. What did they have to come back to? Broken homes or, even worse, living on the streets not sure if they'd survive to the next day?

And like any good cult leader she was there to offer them a way out. To 'save' them.

"But I'm not unreasonable. Some of you wish to remain 'independent', to live through life 'on your own terms'? Then by all means. You can walk out that door right now and these two men will escort you outside. However, I want to make it clear that this invitation will not come a second time. If you find yourself changing your mind and wanting our help then you won't find it."

"How the fuck do we know you ain't just gonna shoot us? Or like harvest our organs or shit?" Ellie asked.

"My dear, if we wanted to kill you then you wouldn't have woken up." And still with that damn smile on her face, "We wish to offer you a home, but as I've said if you wish to leave then by all means. Go back to your life and pick up the pieces on your own. We will not stop you."

She didn't. None of them did. She was playing on their fear (or maybe they were just scared they'd get shot as soon as they were outside). He'd seen in Spider-Man's memories how quick people were to turn their freedom when offered an escape. How many people turned against their neighbors just because they were offered clothes and a warm meal? Children especially. Not everyone could be like Lana or Gabriel.

Still, these kids were falling in line just a bit too easily. Surely at least some would take their chances on the streets rather than put their trust in someone who kidnapped them. There was something about that woman - he'd have to keep an eye on her.

"No? Hm." She went back to the front of the room and clapped her hands together, "Good. Now that we've got that out of the way we should all move on and get to know each other better. At the footlocker of each bed you'll find a set of clothes. They'll be a bit too loose or tight but we can measure you all more properly later. Please change into them then, when you're all done, knock on the door. Philip here will lead the uninjured to the dining room and those that require aid will be sent to the clinic for treatment."

"What, change together?" Another girl asked.

"Yes. You'll all be getting to know each other better so might as well start now."

The clothes were white too, what a surprise. Peter sighed and shucked off his bloodstained clothes before putting on the ones closest to his size. White shirt, white pants, white shoes...he felt like a clown. The clothes brushed against the cuts at his side and he sat down on the bed to watch the others. Some of them were even more injured than he was.

"Are...Are you okay?" he looked up to the boy who asked. They looked to be about the same age with maybe a year or two difference. His dark skin and curly hair contrasted heavily with the clothes and the room,"Those cuts on your face..."

"A-Ah, yeah! I'm...I'm okay..." He'd had worse, but he could hardly tell them that, "M-My daddy Marc he...he sometimes gets angry and he..." He sniffled. Thank _God_ Gwen and the others weren't around to see this. He wasn't exactly the best actor.

"Oh...just like mine." Peter's hands clenched into shaky fists. The Hand took the most desperate. Bastards, "M-Maybe things will be better here?"

Peter didn't say anything. Four more goons came, two leading one group to the dining hall while they were taken to the clinic. The doctor there was all smiles and comforting words, bandaging their wounds and telling them they'd be safe now and no one would ever hurt them again. He didn't need his spider-sense to tell him that was a load of horsefeathers.

Ten minutes later he was shoulder to shoulder between two kids and eating pumpkin soup. Probably laced with something, though he didn't have to worry about that. His eyes scanned every same white uniform, eating the same food; all perfectly identical. Moon Knight told him a year ago that they used similar tactics to the military when it came to getting soldiers. He could've sworn Castle almost shot him for that comparison.

"What's your name?" The kid to his right - the same one from before - asked.

"R-Reilly. You?"

"Hobie."

"So...why did you stay?"

"M-My mom and dad are...they're bad people." He got the feeling that was a massive understatement, "And that lady she...I think she really wants to help us." Peter's eyes narrowed. Definitely something up with her. Either pheromone control like that Killgrave Jones mentioned or something like the charm Satanna had. Trouble either way.

"...How did you get here?"

"I...I was...I ran away after mom and dad started fighting. A man found me and said that he could help me and then...and then I woke up here." And it was either this or going back to the waste of skin he had for parents. He wondered just how many of the ninjas he'd killed were just desperate kids looking for a way out before the Hand twisted them into their puppets.

"Yeah, me too."

Conversation died down after that. Peter focused on his food and thought about his plan for the next few days. It'd be difficult to sneak around, but with his powers he could make do. Still, he'd need to find blindspots in the cameras. Or find a way to get rid of them without drawing attention. He really wished he didn't come in here unarmed. One of Bullseye's old jammers would've been real useful right now.

The woman clapped her hands loudly to get their attention. A man stepped up behind her and Peter had to hold back a sneer,_ 'Bakuto.' _He'd ran into him before back in Japan. He was the Face of the Hand, the good looking guy with the pearly whites who distracted you while his buddies shanked you in the back.

He looked different than the other fingers. Gao, Sowande, Murakami and the now-deceased Alexandra didn't look their hundreds of years of age, but they at least showed some wear and tear. Bakuto was different. Fancy suits, well groomed hair and a face that barely showed any wrinkles or signs of aging. If it was anyone else he might've assumed they were a vampire.

"Good evening everyone. I see we have some new faces here." His voice was smooth and friendly. Had to be after centuries of playing the same act, "Now I know the way we took you here was questionable-" Peter sneered down into his bowl, "-but we only want what's best for you all. Here you'll be safe and you'll have a chance to have what was cruelly never given to you: a family."

He almost charged him then and there. Moon Knight would've been annoyed, but taking out one of the Fingers would've been worth it, right? His grip on the spoon (cause they weren't given forks or knives) tightened and he shoveled more soup into his mouth. They only had one shot at this. After this the Hand would catch on to what he was and they couldn't do this again.

Peter waited till dinner finished and everyone was milling out. He bent the handle of the spoon till it snapped off with a small click and he put both the handle and the head under the long sleeve. Wasn't the best shiv, but he'd had worse.

This was going to be a _long_ few days.

* * *

**Cyclopz:** Is anyone else weirded out by how many vigilantes there are nowadays? And I'm not taking about sanctioned heroes, I mean actual vigilantes.

**Mista: **Not really. I mean it's just like when there were cowboys over a 100 years ago and pirates before that and gladiators before that. History's shown us that there are time periods of flux and fall. Like the Golden Age of Cowboys and Pirates, Vigilantes are the new in thing and they'll pass eventually.

**Titan616:** Not so sure about that. I mean 10 years ago you'd be lucky if you saw Captain America in public and now you can't walk down the block without running into another Initiative hero.

**Mista:** Yeah, and during the 1870's cowboys and outlaws were everywhere till they started dropping off and disappeared. I give this craze another 30 years before vigilantes get phased out for something else.

**Brave2000: **Superheroes are a normal part of everyday life now so i'm not surprised vigilantes are too. Remember less than a couple of years ago Spider-Woman, Hawkeye and Spinerette would've been called vigilantes. Things change.

**Cyclopz:** I still don't like how normal it all is now. Couple years ago a guy putting on a gun and ski mask and killing suspected criminals would've gotten a lot of attention, now people don't give a shit.

**Titan616:** New York's been hit with devils, superpowered terrorists, aliens and the terrigen mist. And you're surprised that vigilante sprees aren't a big deal any more?

**Booksnake:** As an upcoming lawyer the fact that no one really cares about the constant flaunting of the law's pretty disheartening.

**Brave2000:** Considering the last well-known lawyer ended up being the Kingpin of Crime and a freaking Devil on top of that I think you wanna think of a career change buddy.

* * *

Contrary to what one might think, Cindy hadn't been to many Parent-Teacher conferences. Sure she wasn't an honor student or anything, but she kept her nose clean and didn't get into trouble. Honestly most of her experience came when she tried to cheer Albert up whenever he got in trouble. She loved the little guy but he had a mischievous streak a mile wide.

And now she was here again, except this time it was for her kid and not her brother.

Cindy crossed one leg over the other and kept her expression neutral as she looked Principal Davis in the eye. He was an older man who was a little more on the rotund side. His short, cropped hair and mustache was streaked white and the brown eyes underneath his spectacles were narrowed. She couldn't tell if he was trying to glare at her or trying not to wet himself.

"Yes, Ms...Moon." He coughed and broke eye contact to look down the papers on his desk, "According to her papers Ms. Pryde is under the care of her older sister Katherine and yet when we attempted to contact her she didn't respond and Ms. Pryde insisted we call your number instead."

"Yeah, I kinda got that. Shadowcat's usually out of town most days so that's probably why you couldn't contact her," She shrugged lightly, "I'm here now, though. Laura's in trouble, you said?" Something about her punching another kid in the face. Knowing Laura she probably had a real good reason for it. Or maybe he tried to feed her veggies. Either or.

"Before that I must ask what your relationship is with her. When we questioned her when she gave us your contact information she called you her...mother. I'm assuming this isn't a direct biological tie?"

"It's...complicated. Like I said Kat's mostly out of town so I watch out for Laura when I can." Cause they sure as hell couldn't get any normal babysitter. Something told her Nanny McPhee didn't exist in this universe even though Santa Clause did (thanks for the heads up on that, Pete), "As for Laura calling me mom...well, she's been calling me that for months now and I don't see what's wrong with it. It's not illegal, right?"

"No, I suppose not. We'll just note you as a friend of the family for record keeping sake." He sighed.

"You still haven't told me what she did except punching somebody. Was this kid just minding his own business and Laura punched him? Cause that's not how she is."

"According to Ms. Pryde and Ms. Lee the boy, Mr. Toynbee, had been bullying the latter and Ms. Pryde punched him in retalation."

"What kind of bullying are we talking about here?"

"All I know is that Ms. Pryde was the one who escalated it to physical violence." So he didn't know anything. Why was she not surprised? Grade school, high school, didn't change anything. Pete didn't have much luck either before that night at prom, "Regardless of what he was doing she should've gone to one of the teachers rather than turning it into a physical altercation."

"Uh-huh. So, what's this Toynbee kid's punishment for bullying another kid?"

"That will come after this."

"Right, so you called me here to tell me about this. Great. I'll talk to Laura later about how she's not allowed to hit people."

"There's another thing we must discuss."

"Is something wrong?"

"Ms. Moon, you are an Avenger." He looked at her flatly, "While I appreciate everything you've done you can't be so naive as to think that you showing up for a Parent Teacher meeting wouldn't draw attention."

"Yeah..." Most of the parents and kids waiting in line outside didn't stop staring as soon as she walked in and she even caught a few disparaging comments from some of the moms. Price to pay for having an open identity, "But why does me being an Avenger matter here? Unless this school's some kind of Supervillain lair me being one doesn't change anything."

"Exactly what kind of child calls an Avenger mom and has direct access to her number?" He removed his glasses and wiped them down. Never a good sign, "I'll be frank with you, Ms. Moon. We had our doubts about admitting Ms. Pryde but it seems her older sister had some connections and pulled a few favors to get her in."

"Are you going somewhere with this?"

"It's an open secret what Ms. Pryde is." Cindy's hands clenched. 'What' she was...like she wasn't human or something, "She was with you and a few others during the incident a year prior. She's one of the Gifted."

"Still not seeing where you're going with this."

"I'm not certain if you're aware of this, but some of the parents have filed numerous complaints about Ms. Pryde's presence here." Well, that explained some of the comments she got outside, "They're worried about their children's safety and this incident today only exacerbates those concerns."

"There's nothing I can do about that. Last I checked I'm not on the PTA." Not that she'd get into it even if she could. She'd seen enough horror stories from when she was still in grade school to know it was full of helicopter parents and wannabe leaders who wanted to feel important.

"Yes, but it does still concern you." He put the glasses back on, "While I would like to assuage these parents' concerns the fact of the matter is that Ms. Pryde's presence here is highly unorthodox. It doesn't take more than a simple internet search to see what she's capable of and many are justifiably concerned what would happen if she lost her temper."

"Well what are you gonna do, kick her out? She hasn't done anything to be expelled! Unless you're seriously gonna tell me punching someone is grounds for immediate expulsion?"

"For the average child? No. For some like Ms. Pryde-"

"She's a kid!" Cindy stood up and glared down at the seated principal, "Just because she's different doesn't mean she should-"

"She has claws coming out of her hands, Ms. Moon." He looked up at her without any hesitation, "This isn't a matter of race or skin condition or whatever else you might consider discrimination. Ms. Pryde - Laura - has the potential for danger none of the other children are capable of. Would you be comfortable with your children attending class with a child in possession of blades or a firearm?"

"That's different. Laura didn't have a choice with those."

"I am well aware, and it must be said that she didn't use said claws in today's altercation, but the _potential_ is there. If a child brought a loaded gun into school would we let them keep it simply on the basis that we trust them not to use it?"

"That's..."

"I'm not unreasonable, Ms. Moon. I understand that Laura's...condition is not her fault any more than we can choose our genetics. However, I also understand the worries of the parents who aren't comfortable placing their children in close proximity to someone with the potential for such danger. If her abilities were purely something minor then this wouldn't be an issue, but it's not. Her helping you in last year's incident proves such."

Cindy sat back down and sighed. As much as she wanted to cry foul or call discrimination the guy had a point. It wasn't Laura's fault those bastards turned her into a Weapon but she couldn't deny that if she ever got a kid (which was seeming less likely by the way) she wouldn't exactly like the idea of another kid pointing a gun at their face even if the safety was on.

"Look, I get it, but Laura's been here for almost a year and she hasn't done anything wrong. You're not seriously going to expel her, right?"

"No, until she's given us due reason we cannot expel her. Assuming we did I expect that any decent lawyer would tear us apart for unlawful expulsion. However, I do think it was prudent to warn you of the current goings on considering are her 'mother'. My advice? Tell Laura to keep her head down and be careful about drawing attention to herself. Having an Avenger as a close family friend can only get her so far."

Cindy sighed again and walked out of the room. Laura looked up from the nearby bench with those big, puppy dog eyes of hers, "Come on, kiddo." She smiled slightly and grabbed Laura's shoulder to lead her out.

And of course the whispers started again.

"What's she doing here?"

"Is she that girl's mother?"

"Is it safe for her to be here?"

"I bet she's not going to be punished because of her."

Cindy grit her teeth and kept steering Laura to the door. Most people liked the Avengers just fine, but there were still a few that had their reservations. Maybe they were jealous, maybe they were scared, or maybe they just didn't like anyone that had something they couldn't have. Either way she'd dealt with them ever since she got here. Masters was just the tip of the iceberg.

They were almost to the exit when they got intercepted,_ 'Oh, god damn it...' _She plastered a smile on her face when Mrs. Toynbee blocked their way. She wasn't that old, probably just a scant few years ahead of Cindy herself, but the soccer mom haircut and getup added a lot more. Cindy suddenly felt even more out of place here, and it wasn't just because she still got carded just a few weeks ago.

"What?" Despite Cindy's attempt at smile the words came out far more hostile than she intended.

"You need to control your little freak. She hurt my son!" She gestured to the little boy who clung to her legs who, in absolute fairness, was sporting a bruise on his right eye. She almost felt sorry for him.

She didn't feel sorry for his witch of a mom, though.

"Freak? Step off you b-"

"He deserved it." Laura cut in, "He insulted Jubilee that she had no parents and it was because they didn't want her. He made her cry."

"That doesn't give you the right to hurt him!"

"Then maybe you should raise your son better so he doesn't go around bullying people!" Cindy snapped back. An argument was the last thing she needed right now, but she'd be damned if she was going to let some soccer mom talk down to Laura, "I'll admit Laura should've gone to the teacher, but your little brat isn't an angel here either!"

"Oh what do you know? You're not even that little freak's mother!"

Cindy's eyes narrowed dangerously while Laura flinched, "Turn around and walk away."

"What? You-"

"Turn around and _Walk. Away._"

The woman sputtered a few more garbled sentences before she finally decided that pissing off the woman who toss her down the next few blocks was a bad idea. Cindy grabbed Laura and led her out. She already heard some of the parents whispering behind her. She could see the headlines now: "Avenger threatens concerned mother" or whatever else would get the most papers sold.

Shaking her head, she kept walking till they were stopped again near the school exit, "You're Spinerette, right?" A little girl asked, eyes wide with wonder.

"Ah...yeah." She was always weak to kids. Probably had something to do with having a little brother.

"Cool!" And suddenly she was surrounded by kids, all of them trying to talk over one another. Asking for stories, asking for autographs, asking the things kids always asked when they met their heroes. She didn't know what weirded her out more - the suspicion of the parents or the blind trust of the kids.

"Did you really fight Red Skull?" A little boy asked.

"It was mostly Cap, but I helped."

"Ooh, ooh! What was it like fighting the Skrull Queen?"

"Well that was me and Spider-Woman, but really the entire Initiative helped out there."

One year later and she still wasn't used to this. She wasn't like Gwen or She-Hulk. Sure she made the occasional appearance in some charity shows when they really needed her, but she mostly kept to herself and focused on the work part of hero work. Right now she desperately wished that Gwen was here so she could take her place. She was always the better showwoman between the two of them.

Laura suddenly tugged at her left hand. Cindy looked down and found the little girl looking away, her expression unreadable, "...Okay, kids, we really go." A few of them pouted. Cindy did her utter best not to give in and walked away with Laura in tow, the latter holding onto her hand tightly.

They stopped at a family restaurant nearby. Cindy made sure to put up the hood of her jacket before they got inside; last thing they needed was another crowd. She ordered them some pancakes (Laura's favorite) and they sat in the corner booth.

"...Are you mad?" Laura asked, picking at her pancakes without looking up at her.

"No. I mean I do think that you should've gone to the teacher, but from what you've told me about that kid he was kinda asking for it. Just..." She exhaled slowly, "Laura, people know who you are. You and Kat never hid your faces behind masks."

"We are not Superheroes."

"Heroes aren't the only ones who wear masks." As Jameson and every naysayer was so quick to remind them. They had a point there, "Point is that those kids and their parents know who you are."

"They are scared of me." She didn't sound hurt. More like stating a fact, "They think that I will hurt their children."

"Yes." With Laura being honest was always the best choice. She would argue and snarl and fight back but she always understood.

"...Do I have to leave school?"

"No, definitely not. That'd lead to a lawsuit and I'm pretty sure that guy knows when to cut his losses."

"Good. I didn't want to." She finally looked up to meet her gaze, "I like school. I am not normal, and I don't think I want to be, but being with my friends is...fun. Jubilee thinks my claws are cool and Warren is always excited when he talks to us about his favorite heroes. I will miss them if I have to leave."

"Laura, you need to keep your head down. I know that you were just defending your friend-"

"He made Jubilee cry. I'm not sorry."

"I know you're not. It doesn't change the fact that punching other kids in the face is going to make people antsy." Cindy rubbed her forehead and frowned. She really did take after her dad and Kat, "Sometimes we have to do things we don't like so we can keep doing the things we do like. Do you get me?"

"So...I shouldn't punch bullies?"

"No, you shouldn't punch bullies. You go to the teacher and you tell them. If they don't do anything then scream louder till you can't be ignored."

"What if they hit me first?"

"Oh, then that's fair game. Go for the throat." Hey, just cause she wanted her to follow the rules didn't mean she had to be stupid about it, "All I'm saying is you can't just be like Shadowcat and hit people you don't like. There are rules, and like it or not we have to follow them."

"Do you follow them?"

"Why do you think I'm working as Spider-Cop?" Well, besides believing in Truth, Justice and the American way.

"Mmm..." Laura poked at her pancakes. She still hadn't taken a bite, "That woman...she said you weren't my mother."

"Hey, that's-"

"I understand that you aren't. The only one I share biological ties with is Shadowcat, and only on the paternal side. Dad has Felicity and Gene. But..." She chewed on her lower lip, "I like having a family. Back in the facility it was just me, the machine men and Kinney. Me and Shadowcat argue sometimes, but I still like being here."

"...I spent 10 years trapped in a bunker." Laura blinked up at her and silently urged her to continue. She'd never actually told Laura about her past. Didn't think it mattered, "My family died before I got put in there and I spent 10 years by myself. I know seem like I'm in control a lot of the time, but honestly? I'm scared. Sometimes I wonder if this is just some dream and I'm still stuck down there. Alone."

She'd never admit it to the others, but she still had nightmares sometimes. Being with the others - Pete, Gwen, Lana - helped a lot. Reminded her that she wasn't alone.

"Should I stop calling you mom?"

"No, I'm fine with it. I just...honestly I never thought I'd ever be called that. Haven't thought about kids considering how my life ended up." She took a sip of her coffee and her next words came out slow and measured, "Speaking of kids, how's your new tagalong?"

Laura's eyes widened and she looked like she was about to bolt out of there right that second, "What are you talking about?"

"Just a guess. I heard that Spider-Woman's new family member nearly got stolen a couple of days ago. It's possible the thief took it, but I'm guessing that it's not that simple." She leaned forward, "Is there something you wanna tell me?"

Laura bit her lip and, after a few seconds of silence, a pink, snake-like thing jutted out of her shoulder. Thank god the booth was private, _"How did you know?"_

"Took a guess. Wasp's actually pretty suspicious of you too. " She set her cup of coffee down, "Considering how Spider-Woman got her own tagalong it wasn't hard to imagine that their kid did the same thing."

_"I didn't want the bad man to take me and Laura's really good at fighting! I thought I could help her!" _She didn't know if it was cute or creepy that the symbiote sounded exactly like Laura, reverb aside.

"Does Shadowcat know?"

"No, I did not tell her." Laura shook her head, "Chocolate only talked to me after we got home. She told me how she was scared and attached to me in case I needed help."

"And you didn't tell Kat or Wasp because?"

_"Because they'd put me back in the box!" _Chocolate (seriously, it needed a new name) said, _"It's so boring there! I want to explore and be a hero like mom and parent but they're too worried about me!"_

"Considering you almost got stolen a couple days ago, I think they have a point."

_"But if they put me in the box then someone else will try to take me! With Laura we can defend ourselves!" _

"Alright, I can kinda see your point there, but do you have any idea how worried Gwen and her tagalong are?" Chocolate looked away guiltily while Laura rubbed its head, "And you, Laura. I'm surprised that you went along with this."

"She was lonely. I know what it's like to be alone."

"Ugh, tug on the heartstrings, why don't you?" Cindy sighed and leaned back to get a better look at her, "Laura, do you realize what this is? It's not just the kid hitching a ride with you. This relationship is a bond, a permanent one if we don't separate you two. Are you fine with her knowing everything you do, everything you think about?"

"We understand each other. I see her thoughts and she sees mine. She is...happy, and she makes me happy." It nuzzled against her cheek.

"Alright, seriously, you two are gonna give me diabetes." Cindy didn't know whether to laugh or groan, "We can discuss this more later. You two? We're gonna tell Spider-Woman the truth."

_"But-"_

"You are way too young to be in your rebellious phase! Your mom's been worried sick, especially since Pete went and started playing undercover Spider. We're talking to her tonight and that's final."

_"But what if they put me back in the box?"_

"She won't if you both convince her why this is the best option for everyone." She pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. Honestly, why was she always the one who got stuck with this? She was busy enough as it was without having to worry about Gwen's kid or Lana's friend on top of it, "Being partners isn't as simple as you two might think. You need as much help as you can and Spider-Woman's the only one who can give it."

Laura chewed on her bottom lip and nodded, "...Fine, we will talk to her."

_"Mom and parent are gonna be so mad at me..." _

"Definitely. I mean, what do you expect when you disappear without a word? She probably thinks you're being experimented on by some mad scientist or something."

_"...I'm sorry for getting in trouble, Laura."_

"I'm fine."

"I'm taking another guess here, but did your new friend tell you to punch that kid in the face?"

"No, she told me not to." Well, that didn't go how she thought it would, "She said that we should separate them but try not to hurt anyone unless they hit first. That's what heroes are supposed to do."

_"You're supposed to give them a chance to give up unless they're already attacking someone. That's what mom always does!"_

"Great, this is more complicated than I thought." Cindy clicked her tongue, "Just finish up your food so we can talk to Spider-Woman. I need a drink..."

* * *

**ArkT: **Went with my dad to watch over sis during PTC and ran into **Spinerette -embedded image-**

**Noisy-Cricket:** What the hell was she doing there? Last I checked she didn't have a kid.

**ArkT:** Dunno, but she was there to pick up some girl named Laura.

**WorthingtonLineage:** My little brother talks about her all the time. Apparently she's one of the Gifted and she even helped Spider-Woman and the others fight this dimension's **Cindy Moon**. Little girl with the claws.

**ThatGeekyGuy: **Yeah my mom's pretty worried about her being there. Thinks that she's a risk to the other kids.

**Noisy-Cricket:** Helps save the city and people are scared of her. Sounds about right.

**usernamesarebullshit:** Dude if I had a kid I wouldn't want em near a kid who could shank em in the face if she gets pissed.

**Lolrus555:** I'm more confused on what the relationship is between her and Spinerette.

**ArkT:** That Laura kid called her mom but I'm pretty sure they're not related. Girl looks pretty caucasian to me.

**HahaHoho:** Shame, thought Spinerette could add MILF to her list of accomplishments.

**Spinerette:** I will find you and I will hurt you.

**HahaHoho:** Promise? ;)

* * *

**I debated on whether I should've had Laura and Chocolate's first meeting be written down or gloss over it. I decided on the latter since I already did Gwen and MJ's meetings and Laura's would've just been a repeat of Gwen's. I'll write it later if you guys want it but so far I'm fine with this.**

**Anyway, Noir's currently in the brainwashing facility while Cindy's dealing with her kid and Gwen's kid having a pow-wow. Next chapter will be the Roxxon date and the talk with Laura about her new partnership.**

**Questions:**

**1\. Do you guys want to have filler/character driven chapters again? While I did get some complaints about how V1 was unfocused others liked those chapters as well due to the focus on character interactions over antagonists. There are some cut arcs I could include here like Kraven (Noir and Punisher focus), Tombstone (MJ, Noir and Norah focus), Morbius (Gwen, Jessica and Wasp focus), Hellfire Club/Emma Frost (Male Defenders focus), Gang War (Defenders and Avengers team up) etc etc.**

**There are also some not so serious segments I could put in, particularly a Guys Night Out chapter where Iron Fist drags Moon Knight, Noir and Matt to a bar in his attempt to make them all bond as a team. It fails. Badly. I could also do some ESU focus segments with Noir attending classes and dealing with the curriculum and the insanity of college life.**

**2\. If you guys could change the characterization of a single character here, who and how would it be? **

**3\. Seems like Matt/MJ is the winner of the last poll. Wonder if you guys expect this to legitimately work out in the end or you're just voting for the biggest trainwreck. **

**Review Answers:**

**Brave2000 - MJ's pairing poll has Matt with a severe lead, so I'm guessing its him. **

**Titan616 - Not all of Lana's friends are combat capable. Gabriel's a stealth specialist, Sue definitely can't fight and Aracely's combat skills fluctuate due to her powers. As for Cindy, yeah, she deals with a lot of crap considering what she's been through.**

**Mrxdeathx808 - Having MJ continuously pine over Peter/Gwen can only go so far. Eventually she does have to move on.**

**Mista - Yeah, Peter/Gwen was definitely just due to fan demand. I would've gone for Peter/Norah otherwise.**

**Cyclopz - Thanks :)**


	30. Old Friends

**Sorry for the delay on this chapter. Work and the smaller amount of reviews I've gotten recently sapped a lot of my motivation. Hopefully I get it back now that the anxiety medication's kicking in :)**

**Anyway, we're pretty close to Christmas so hopefully I can get some decent updates out for both this and Two Spiders on a Web out by then. **

**Side Note - I put up a new poll for what job Noir should have given his previous dialogue about finding one. Different jobs allow for different interactions with the character he's working with so choose which one you want :)**

* * *

**Chieftain: **Surprised no one ever asked**. StrikerNotBombshell,** what was it like being the youngest member of the **Defenders**?

**Reply from StrikerNotBombshell:** Why do you wanna know?

**Reply from Chieftain:** Just curious. That's not exactly a child friendly group.

**Reply from StrikerNotBombshell**: You guys do remember that Pete was 18 a year ago right? And like I said before we weren't really a team. Half of us were only there cause they hated Murdock.

**Reply from Chieftain:** Still did being the youngest affect you in any way?

**Reply from StrikerNotBombshell:** What is this psychology class? Castle gave me some grief but I don't give a fuck what that guy thinks. I earned my keep and helped out killing that tubby bastard in Times Square.

**Reply from PS4ONE: **Just a heads up **StrikerNotBombshell** this guy's a notorious quack who makes videos about 'analysis into the mind of the Gifted' so I wouldn't answer him again.

**Reply from StrikerNotBombshell: **Thanks for the heads up.

* * *

Someone kill her now. Please.

Gwen forced a flirtatious (ugh...) smile at the man sitting across from her on the fancy table. Donald Roxxon a.k.a Will-o-the-Wisp a.k.a the guy who put a bounty on Peter's head and kidnapped innocent people for mad science experiments. It took everything she had not to web his smug mouth shut and get into a brawl then and there. She wasn't a fan of violence, but he was really tempting her.

**'Gwen...'**

_'I'm fine, Webs.'_ She felt sick to her stomach and her boobs felt like volleyballs, but she was fine. More than fine actually, judging by the way Roxxon's eyes occasionally 'slipped'. He'd invited her to a fancy dinner and she couldn't exactly go in with her full costume so, after some advice from Cindy, she and Webster changed into a dark, backless dress that left a generous chunk of her chest exposed and molded her face to resemble how she looked in those comics.

On the bright side she could probably use it for a date when Peter got back to normal, so it wasn't all bad.

The restaurant they were in was definitely fancy. Everyone around her was dressed in clothes that was more expensive then her entire monthly rent and the food had foreign sounding names she didn't even try to pronounce. Roxxon himself wore a pristine white suit that, if she were more fashionable, she would've been impressed by. Instead she just found it an expensive, tacky mess.

She smiled again when he said something about how noble he was for stopping a purse snatcher. Well, he didn't say it straight out but the subtext was barely sub at this point, "Honestly, why do they insist on earning a living off the struggles of others? It's pathetic."

"Absolutely. So disgraceful, all of them." She had to agree with everything he said, or at least that was what MJ and Lana suggested. _Egotistical pricks like him don't like anyone saying no, were their exact words_, "I'm glad you took the time to help that woman out. You already give so much and now you're even helping out here. That last charity ball was your doing, right?"

"You know about that? Ah, how embarrassing." He gave a not-at-all-embarrassed smile and chuckled, "I'd hoped to invite you to that."

"I'd have _loved_ to go, but H.Y.D.R.A remnants attacked and you know what they say; there's no rest for the virtuous." She laughed too and fluttered her eyelashes up at him, "Oh, but make sure to invite me to the next one! I won't miss it for anything."

"I'll admit I'm surprised at your eagerness. In our conversation a year prior we didn't exactly end on the best of terms." His smile twitched at that. Remembering something that didn't go his way probably pissed him off.

"Yeah, I was...it wasn't a good time for me." Gwen smiled 'sadly', "I'm sure you've seen the video by now. I let Spider-Man...confuse me. I was so blind to his faults that I..."

She let her right hand lie on the table and he reached his left to touch it, "I understand. You don't have to say more." She nodded shakily and held his hand in turn. This was the main draw they had - making him think she was someone for him to save. MJ had rolled her eyes when she told her about what the guy was like. It was apparently the reason she hated bringing up her dad to her old dates: a lot of them thought she needed rescuing after that.

"Honestly, that scum who parades around as a hero is worse than the criminals. At least they're honest about how wretched they are. He pretends to be a hero all to mask how depraved he truly is."

_'Sound familiar, asshat?'_ Of course she didn't say that out loud, but her smile did stiffen slightly when Roxxon continued to insult him. Right now Peter was stuck as a kid and undercover in some kind of ninja death cult and she couldn't even say anything while this bastard talked shit about him. It was stupid. She knew he didn't care - hell, he'd probably encourage her to play along more and give her a list of insults to use - but she still hated it. Being bullied was the main reason the Lizard came out at all.

"I really wanna thank you for inviting me out tonight. It's been...a while since I've been to something like this outside of costume." The last time she remembered was when she went with her dad to the policeman's ball a couple of years ago. Considering Spider-Woman was still a fugitive and her dad was head of the task force she didn't have much fun.

"You're very welcome." His thumb glided across her hand and she almost gagged, "Someone like you deserves far more than what this city gives."

"Yeah, tell me about it." She subtly pulled her hand back and crossed her arms, "...Could you keep a secret?"

He looked way too eager at that, "Of course. You can tell me anything."

"Sometimes I'm just so...tired. I go out every day to save people and they just expect more and more." That wasn't a whole lie, at least. She wasn't tired of being a superhero (and she doubted she ever would), but some of the demands people had got on her nerves. It wasn't even just her relationship with Peter. Some people just thought she was there to do whatever they wanted for free cause 'you're a hero, ain't ya?'

"I admit this wasn't what I expected of you, Spider-Woman. You always seemed so in control."

"Yeah. Well, I figured I could be honest. Sorry about ruining your image of me."

"No, its actually comforting to know you trust me enough to let me see beneath the mask. Metaphorically, in this case." He laughed. She forced herself to.

"Yeah. I dunno, I just...I feel like I can trust you. I mean you have everything already. You're set for life but you still decided to gout and help people. That's more than what most people would do." She felt sick, smiling and blushing while the smug bastard just ate it all up. He really thought that she'd fallen for his shit, "And it's nice to see someone who's not just the same from everyone else. You're...unique."

"I could say the same of you. You did help this city despite them hunting you like a fugitive."

"Sometimes I wonder if it's still worth it, honestly. I'll admit a part of why I did it was because of pride. They called me a criminal, a murderer, and I wanted to prove them wrong." She smirked, "And it paid off. Now I'm an Avenger."

"Selflessness does not preclude benefits." He smirked back.

**'Please control your urge to vomit, Gwen. It's getting annoying.'**

_'Sorry, Webs.' _Webster was the only reason she hadn't gagged herself to death at this point.

**'It's fine, just order the most expensive chocolate on the menu. We may as well benefit from this.'**

_'Always an opportunist, huh?'_

**'You expected anything else?'**

They finished their meal and took a walk on the fancy, outside balcony. Anyone else would've been impressed at the sight, but she'd seen it too many times to feel anything but familiarity, "Hmm..." She leaned across the rail and looked out over the brightly lit city, the wind whipping her artificially extended hair while Roxxon stood behind her. She was sure it all looked appropriately romantic and picturesque.

"Something on your mind?"

"Just thinking about this city." She hummed, "From up here you really see how big it all is, huh? Millions of people down there just living their lives."

"Yes, it certainly does put things into perspective." He stood next to her now, "...Pardon my rudeness, but you seem...different from when we last spoke even outside of you finally seeing the truth about that criminal Spider-Man."

"Disappointed?" She smiled up at him wryly.

"The furthest. It's simply a surprise."

"Yeah, well, we can't all be perfect." She shrugged and turned around, propping her elbows up on the barrier, "I know I put on the show of being the friendly neighborhood Spider-Woman, but honestly? Sometimes I just wanna tell these ungrateful bastards to screw off. Two years they treated me like garbage and now I'm suddenly cool? Yeah, they can go fuck themselves."

"And yet you continue to act in the role of the hero."

"Because I'm better than them, that's why. And because of this." She flashed her Avengers prioricard, "I mean don't get me wrong, the perks are _great_, but sometimes I just wanna go back to those early days when I could have fun with my powers, when people didn't expect me to drop everything just to help _them_. What's the point of having em if you're not having fun, right? You know what I mean."

"I believe I do." He held her hand again, "I understand the frustration you feel. When I first earned these gifts it was difficult to find motivation to use them for only the sake of others. Ultimately decency won out, but the businessman side of me does still chafe at others benefiting from what I worked towards."

"Worked towards?" She raised a brow.

His eyes widened for just a split second at the slip of the tongue, "Well...yes. it's difficult to explain-"

"No need to tell me." Gwen squeezed his hand and winked. _Make people think you don't care_, that was what Cindy said. If he thought she was prying it was game over, "Honestly, I'm kinda glad to know you didn't just get it out of lucky. I actually feel jealous."

"Jealous?"

"Yeah. I got these powers cause I got bitten; if I'd been in another place in line it would've been someone else who got these powers." That was true, at least. Peter, MJ, maybe even Sally Avril. Could've been anyone, and she knew for a fact that the multiverse or Anansi whatever the hell it was wasn't too picky, "Knowing that you actually worked for it...you're different than everyone else. Better."

Just for a second, she saw the smug smile on his face before he went right back to being the perfect gentleman. Jackpot, "Yes, well, work demands sacrifices from all of us."

"Oh?"

"I can't give you the details, but suffice to say the cost of these abilities are worth their weight in gold." How many people did he kill to get them, she wondered. Did he even care? "You've gained strength since I've last seen you as well." He held her right hand. Webster thankfully stopped her from clawing through his palms, "Not that you weren't already powerful when I first met you, but you've only gotten better."

"Yeah, but I can always get more. Who says no to a little more power, right?" She grinned up at him and his expression flashed from surprise to curiosity and, for just a moment, glee. It made her sick, him thinking they were in any way alike, "I'm not naive. Sometimes people - innocent people - get hurt because of me. All I can do is get stronger so I can keep it from happening again."

"Even if getting stronger means hurting more of these so-called innocent people?"

"Small price to pay so I can be stronger and save everyone else."

"Hmhm, you continue to surprise me."

And then he kissed her. Gwen's eyes widened and it took everything Webster had t just keep her hands from doing anything more than shaking limply at her sides. Gwen swallowed the bile rising in her throat and made a small gesture of reciprocation. She couldn't look too eager, Cindy said. Just give him a taste of what he _could_ have and leave him craving for more.

**'He tastes like wine,'** Webster said unhelpfully.

_'Shut it.'_

Eventually she pulled back and even managed to make it look somewhat graceful, "Guess I'm not the only one who's full of surprises." And then, with a coy wink, she let herself fall off the balcony. She let the rush of air calm her before shifting back to her costume and swinging off. It was such a damn cliche, but she knew he'd eat it all up. Asshole.

Thankfully he was surprised enough not to follow her. Gwen let out a relieved sigh and swung to where Cindy and Laura told her to meet. Cause apparently Chocolate (she really needed a better name) decided that her and Webster looking for a good host was totally pointless and she'd just latch onto the closest person who could take her.

**'I don't know whether I wish to hug her or yell at her. Is this normal?'**

_'Yep.' _Seriously, she could've said _something _to them that she was safe and wasn't actually kidnapped by some kind of mad scientist. No, instead she had to make them worry and made Gwen (literally) tear her hair out, _'She's going to have a _lot _of explaining to do when we find her.' _

It didn't take her long to get to the rendezvous. Gwen landed on the abandoned rooftop and looked to the odd pair. Cindy sat on a vent and barely looked up to acknowledge her landing before going back to her phone. Knowing her it was probably a case. Not too far away was Laura who stood stock still and just watched her with unblinking eyes. Creepy.

Gwen crossed her arms and peeled the mask back, "Alright, little lady, come out." She didn't. Gwen started tapping her feet, "I'm waiting."

"You're scaring her."

"Scaring _her_? Do you have any idea how worried _we_ were?!" Laura took a slight step back at the sudden yell, "We thought you you were gone! That some crazy mad scientist like Evil Cindy just took you or...or..." She stopped. Whatever else she wanted to say she knew it wouldn't be enough. First Peter went off the grid and then her kid possibly got kidnapped. It hadn't been a good couple of days.

Laura turned her head to the side and a long, pink blob slithered out of her shoulder and raised itself towards her, _"I'm sorry..." _Chocolate rubbed her cheek with her head and Gwen felt almost all of her anger dissipate, _"I was so excited to be out of the box that I didn't think about how Mom and Parent felt."_

"Yeah, no kidding." Gwen pressed her against her cheek and Chocolate crooned, "Well, at least you're alright. Come on, we should go back. Wasp said she has a new place where you can-"

_"I'm not going back." _Chocolate pulled back before Gwen could grab her, _"I'm really sorry for making you worry, but I don't wanna go back in the box! Out here it's so fun and Laura's a really good host!"_

"Cindy told me that you bonded with her because of the danger! We need to find you a proper host-"

_"Mom and Parent bonded because of danger! Parent saved you!"_ Gwen bit her tongue and didn't say anything back, "...I hate being in the box. You and Parent and Wasp visit all the time but when you're alone I feel really sad!"

Webster jutted out of her shoulder, **"Perhaps we should have expected this. Symbiotes like us are built for finding a host and merging with them. I thought that Chocolate wouldn't feel so alone since she's just been born and we visit her as much as we can."**

_"It's cause I have your memories, Parent! When I'm alone I don't have anything to do but remember all the adventures that you two have. Saving the city, being there for each other. It makes me lonely that I don't have an Other of my own."_

"Memories...does that mean she remembers..." Carnage tearing them apart, the struggles they had, or even her time with Peter. Her face turned warm.

"I think it's a bit too late to start worrying about that now, Gwen." Cindy said, finally standing to join them, "Point is Laura and her new partner don't want to be separated and we gotta figure out what to do about that."

"Partner..." Gwen looked down at the ground, "Are you sure about her? I mean-"

_"Laura is nice." _The girl in question smiled at the pink symbiote, _"I saw some of her memories when I first merged with her. They were sad and scary and not like the happy memories you have, but she's getting better. When she first found out about me she didn't hate me. She was curious and thought I might be bad, but she listened to me and said she didn't mind bonding with me."_

"But do you even know what that bond means?" Gwen asked.

"She can see my thoughts and I can see hers," Laura said softly, "I thought she would scared and disgusted when she saw my memories. Instead she comforted me and showed me hers. How happy she was when she was born and you all cared for her. It was...nice. She is happy and she makes me happy."

"God..." Gwen pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. They were making it _really_ hard to say no.

"Yeah, that's how I felt too." Cindy smiled wryly at her and ruffled Laura's hair, "I can't really say anything since it's your kid and all, but I trust Laura so I suggest giving her a chance. Besides, I think this might be for the best."

"How do you mean?"

"Well I'm not sure how aging works for symbiotes, but Pinky here's just a kid. Isn't it better that she gets with another kid instead of an adult like me or Norah? It'd feel less like a babysitting job that way."

"I still have my doubts." Gwen pursed her lips, "Physically how are you two bonding? I mean Laura has different powers than me or Cindy."

_"It feels...tingly."_ Gwen raised a brow, _"Not a bad kind of tingly! Just tingly like when you get a massage."_

"It's probably her healing factor. Pinky here's a foreign substance so it probably has no clue what to do with her. It's not like she's hurting Laura but she's not part of her system yet too," Cindy said.

"Will it hurt her?"

"I doubt it. Both of them would have said something."

_"Does that mean I can stay?"_ Chocolate looked up at her with comically wide eyes and Gwen cringed. Damn it, she knew she couldn't resist a pair of puppy dog eyes! _"I promise I won't hide anything anymore and I'll be good! Pleeaaassseeee!"_

"...Fine." Laura and Chocolate smiled and high fived (kinda, considering only one of them had hands), "_But_ there's going to be rules. First things first, we gotta get you both checked out by Wasp. Like I said she has a new facility that should be safe and have to make sure Laura's powers don't fuck anything up for either of you."

_"Oooh, ooh! Could we go on patrol with you?!"_ Chocolate asked excitedly, completely ignoring what she just said, _"Laura and I even have a new costume to hide our identities!"_

Gwen didn't have a chance to say anything back before Laura's clothes shifted and she was suddenly clad in a pink and yellow ensemble. Her entire body was covered in what looked like skintight spandex with splotches of the two colors scattered round haphazardly. On her arms and legs were cris-crossing patterns of webs that had no connection to one another while her head had a bright pink mask with stupidly oversized white eyes and a hood that looked two sized too small.

Oh, and there was a searing white _trenchcoat_ on top for good measure.

Quite honestly, she looked ridiculous.

"Uh...where did you two get that costume?" Cindy asked for her.

"She and I were discussing costumes. She wanted a costume like Spider-Woman but I wanted a costume like daddy. We decided to mix the two together." Gwen could practically see Laura's beaming smile under that nightmare of a mask.

"Right..." Gwen had to stop herself from laughing. She wasn't going to put them down, damn it, "Uh...what's say we put that on hold for now?"

_"How much for now?" _

"Uh...when Laura's 18?"

_"No way!" _Right, of course that wouldn't work, _"What's the point of having powers if we can't help people with them! With great power comes great responsibility! Isn't that what you always thought?"_

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Gwen, I don't think there's any arguing with her." Cindy laughed under her breath, "Though, I do agree with you that going full on crime stopping's a bad idea. Tell you what, why don't we train them both and take them on patrol with us? That way we can at least keep an eye on em and make sure they're not sneaking off."

"Right, and I'm sure Cap and the press'll just _love_ that. Two Avengers taking a kid with them on patrol." Gwen sighed again but finally found enough to smile, "Alright, fine, can't be any worse than anything else we've dealt with. First things first, though," She looked the young pair in the eye, "We need to do something about that that outfit."

"And that name. No offense, but calling your kid Chocolate really seems like child abuse."

**"I like it..."**

_"I agree! I wanna cooler name than that! Maybe something like Justice or Protector or Riot!"_

Gwen blinked, "Wait, what was that last-"

"I like Gabby," Laura said, cutting her off, "Daddy said that if he ever gave me another little sister he would name her that."

"Hold on-"

_"Oooh, ooh! What about Phage or Lasher or Toxin?"_

"Okay seriously why did the names turn really dark?"

The pair ignored her and Gwen could only share a helpless look with Cindy. This was gonna be a _long _couple of days.

* * *

**MB28:** So Spider-Man is basically an anime character right?

**Reply from TEhoNE: **WTF? Why?

**Reply from ****MB28:** Think about it. According to the latest **Black Cat Interview **there were actually two Spider-Men and the one we know came back from the dead with the other's memories. Then he ended up working with the person who killed him in the first place and even ended up in a relationship with her while being a Superhero. That's the most anime thing I've heard in my life.

**Reply from F76: **He came back from the dead twice too.

**Reply from MB28: **Not to mention he hangs out around a lot of female heroes with at least two of them who had a crush on him. I've literally seen this before. All that's missing is the katana.

**Reply from Spinerette: **WTH kind of anime do you guys have in this dimension...?

* * *

MJ turned and held the pose, trying ignore the heat of the light against her face. Contrary to popular belief modeling wasn't just strutting down a runway doing your most absurd walk. So far from what she'd experienced it was a lot of listening to melodramatic photographers that no, her arm had to be bent at exactly a 45 degree angle and even a single degree off meant the entire thing was ruined. Ruined, I tell you!

She sighed and did the next pose, leaning across the railing in a 'relaxed' pose with her legs crossed. Honestly she had no clue how she was supposed to do any of this without her powers. If it wasn't for her stupid core strength she would've caved by now.

**_'You're welcome.'_**

_'Yeah, yeah.' _To be honest she had no idea why she was still doing this. She'd fully cut her worthless excuse for a dad out of her life and, while the money was nice, she couldn't really say that she was starving or anything. At best she figured it was a mix of pride and wanting to pay a bigger chunk of the rent. Nevermind the fact that she probably paid more than Peter at this point.

Technically she hadn't even quit her job at the theater yet. So far she'd been lucky enough and the shoots she had didn't clash with her work hours. Still, she knew she'd have to pick one and stick to it eventually.

Especially considering her other gig...

"Smile, Mary Jane, smile!" Prima Donna - real name Tom - shouted at her.

"O-Oh, sorry!" Mary Jane forced a somewhat stiff smile and Prima Donna kept snapping pictures. Murdock was a now show ever since Tiger went undercover and she hadn't really 'gone out' in the meantime. Every time Crimson asked she'd make an excuse that the theater and modelling kept her busy, but they both knew that was load of bullshit.

She was scared; had been ever since that blind bastard outed her to Cindy. Sure Cindy said she had no room to judge considering how close she was to Peter but a part of her still felt paranoid that if she caught something about her on the news she'd tell Gwen just how badly she'd slipped. Even Gwen had her limit and, while she was pretty sure she wouldn't take her to jail considering how she treated Harry, Mary Jane didn't much like the idea of Gwen hovering over her shoulder like she did Peter a year ago.

Eventually Prima Donna got enough pics and waved Mary Jane off without a single word. The redhead sighed and trudged towards the bench after buying a churro and three hotdogs. Wasn't raw meat but Crimson could deal, "Hot..." She pulled on the collar of the blouse and ignored the sweat sticking to her skin. Crimson didn't like the heat. Probably had something to do with how its last host ended up.

**_'Don't push your luck, little red.'_**

_'It's been a year. Move on.'_

_**'Funny. How long has it been since you first wanted to jump Stacy and her boytoy?'**_

Mary Jane bit into her hotdog hatefully in lieu of answering - one good thing about her new tagalong was she didn't gain weight. Her gaze shifted across the length of the park. Today's shoot was at a semi isolated corner of Central Park close to Beldevere Castle. Even with the heat the fresh air did her good.

And just like when she often found herself alone, she started to think. What ifs were the most popular. Most days it was how life would've gone if she and Glory hadn't gotten into that stupid argument. Depending on her mood it was either her ending up leading a rock revolution with a dozen golden discs to her name or falling off the wayside once people realized Spider-Woman was the only thing propping their music up.

Sometimes it was other, less depressing stuff. What if she'd asked out Peter or Gwen before they went for each other, what if she and Gwen switched places that day at the science fair. Would that relationship last or were the two soulmates who'd eventually find each other? Would she decide to be a hero like Gwen or would she just decide making television appearances was what was important to her?

_'**There you go again,'** _Crimson hummed,**_ 'Why do you always think back on how different things could be? You're the one who always tells me that I should move on from Cletus' death and yet here you are stewing us both in your thoughts.'_**

_'Ah, shut it.'_ She sighed and finished of the churro and leaned back on the bench to look up at the sky. Bright and sunny, as if to mock her mood,_ '...Hey, you ever think what it would've been like if you never bonded with that mass murderer?'_

_**'Trying to dig salt into the wound?'**_

_'I'm serious. You told me before that hosts and symbiotes affect each other. If you and that Kasady bastard never bonded together do you think you'd be like this?' _

She expected it to mock her, make jokes about thinking too much, but instead it was quiet for almost a minute until, **_'...I do not know'. _**Mary Jane was quiet, **_S.H.I.E.L.D created me to be a weapon, poked and prodded at me to ensure that I wouldn't end up being like Stacy's partner. The first thing I wanted to do was kill them. After that...who knows.'_**

_'How'd you even run into that asshole?'_

**_'I first tried to bond with the boytoy's genetic copy. That didn't work.' _**With the other Spider-Man? That was new info_, **'I found Cletus the same way I found you - bleeding out in an alley after one of his victims fought back and escaped.'**_

_'I got attacked because of two bastards who couldn't keep it in their pants, not because I tried to kill someone.'_

_**'Tomayto, tomatoe. Ended the same way.'**_

And then, just for a moment, she wondered what it would've been like if Crimson jumped to her before Kasady. Would she be a hero now, only killing when she had to like Peter, or would she still have ended up the same way?

Another voice cut in before she could say anything, "Mary Jane?" The redhead in question looked up and blinked when she saw Mary looking down at her.

"Mary? What are you doing here?"

"Um, I finished my gig an hour ago and didn't have work since the boss decided to quit without notice. Third time this month, actually..." Mary Jane snorted while Mary smiled softly, "I decided to take a walk and...well, I ran into you."

"Huh."

"So, um..." Mary sat down next to her, refusing to break eye contact. Mary Jane suddenly felt awkward. They hadn't talked to one another ever since the other redhead (kinda) found out about her powers. Considering she didn't have government agents with latex gloves knocking down her door she figured she kept her secret.

"Yeah?"

"Could I ask you about your..."

"...Sure." Mary Jane shrugged, trying to look nonchalant. She really should've seen this coming. It'd been long enough that most people didn't look twice when they saw someone in a costume or some unlucky person whose face got turned into a bird because of that mist. Didn't mean some people wouldn't be interested, though.

"You said you were hit by the Terrigen mist. What...What was it like?"

"Uh...you know. Breath in some funky gas, wake up in a cocoon and then you get fancy new powers." Mary Jane smiled crookedly, "Honestly I don't really know what to tell you. It was all kind of a blur."

"Oh..." She looked down in obvious disappointment.

"Sorry I couldn't be more help."

"N-No, it's..." She bit her lower lip, "Um...what exactly are your powers, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Typical comic book stuff. I'm stronger, faster, can take a hit and I heal better. I got pretty lucky, actually. I know someone whose power was their nails grow 4 times as fast." On the bright side you could cut someone's face with it. Not so bright side a switchblade was easier and less goofy looking, "Honestly I try not to think about it too much, you know?"

"Why not? You have powers! You could-"

"Could be what? Be one of the dozens of people with costumes? No way. I...I'm not really built for the hero stuff." Gwen would keep trying, of course, but Mary Jane knew it was fleeting. That rush she got from stopping purse snatchers didn't erase the blood on her hands or block out Crimson's voice at the back of her head, "Honestly some days I would've given anything to lose these."

"Wh-What? How could you-"

"I wanna be a singer. Making my own lyrics, being up on stage...I love it. Loved it ever since I begged mom for my first guitar." She looked ahead and smiled, bittersweet, "And then I got these powers and suddenly that wasn't an option anymore. Loud sounds made me freak the hell out so being in a band, especially a singer? Wasn't happening."

"Still...I'd give anything to be strong."

"...Is this about Avril?"

"Yeah." She nodded, "You saw what she's like. I dunno why she decided she wanted to make my live a living hell but there's nothing I can do about it. She's rich, she's pretty and her dad is friends with the Dean of ESU. There's nothing I can do. There's nothing anyone can do."

**_'Except maybe cut her throat while she's sleeping.'_**

_'No, Crimson.' _Mary Jane sighed, "So riddle me this. Even if you do get superpowers, what are you gonna do? Just...beat her up? I mean I won't deny Avril needs a good smack in the face but all that'll do is mess up her nose job and then she'll go on tweeter crying about how she's the victim."

"Yeah..." She clenched both hands tightly and grit her teeth, "I just want her to shut up."

"There's a lot of people I feel the same way about. Remind me to tell you about Carl King or Liz Allan later." Mary Jane shook her head, "But enough about her, okay? Avril's not worth our time."

"Sure...okay."

"Good. Hey, I know it's a bit late but I gotta ask, are you okay? That robbery a few days ago as kinda tense. Second time someone's tried to mug you-"

"How do you know that?"

"...Huh?"

**_'Oh, here we go...'_**

"How do you know that it's the second time?"

Mary Jane's eyes widened as the words finally sunk in. She was there for the store robbery but there were only three people who knew about the mugging - the mugger, Mary herself and...

"Mary-"

"You're the Scarlet Spider." The words were soft but they still sounded deafening to Mary Jane's ears. Mary gave her a gaping look while Crimson snickered.

"Uh...I-I dunno what you're talking about." Mary Jane looked away.

**_'Good thing you're a model and not an actress, huh?'_**

_'Shut it!'_

"No, you are!" Mary Jane shrunk back when Mary suddenly leaned forward, "That must be how you reacted so fast when that guy held up the store! You're Scarlet-"

Mary Jane grabbed the shorter redhead's wrist and dragged her towards a more secluded part of the park. A look of discomfort passed the other woman's face and Mary Jane flinched, "Sorry." She let go of her wrist and let out a soft breath. She was just lucky she hadn't cut Mary's wrist open, "You really shouldn't say that kind of stuff out loud."

"Why? You're friends with Spider-Woman and-"

"That's exactly why." Mary Jane snapped. She didn't need Gwen being tied to the serial killer who ran around town playing the angel of vengeance. Her relationship with Peter was damaging enough, "There's a reason Spider-Woman keeps her face hidden. We can't all be like She-Hulk or Captain America and go out to get parades and cheering fans. Some of us are better off when nobody's looking."

"But...you're a hero."

"Are you **_sure about that?_**" Mary stepped back and she pressed both hands against her mouth to keep from screaming. Mary Jane saw her in the other woman's wide eyes. Veins ran up the sides of her neck to her jaw and the whites of her right eye had shifted into a sickening shade of blood red.

The worst part was this was mild by her standards.

"...Sorry." Mary Jane took a deep breath and forced herself to look normal again, "Like I said, we can't all be like the Avengers. The pretty costume just hides what's underneath."

"What was...What was that?" There was fear in her voice. Fear and something else she couldn't place.

"Better you don't ask questions like that. For both our sakes." Mary Jane looked past her and saw Prima Donna calling for her, "I gotta get back to work. My advice? Keep as far away from me as possible if you know what's good for you." She walked past her then stopped, "Oh, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone what you saw. I can't stop you if you really want to, but..."

Mary Jane drifted off and started walking again, "Have you ever killed anyone?" She stopped, "Is that why you said you're not a hero?"

"Who knows."

"You won't tell me?"

"No offense, Mary, but we're not nearly close enough for confessions." Mary Jane left and ignored the other redhead's lingering stare at her back. Great, now she'd lost one of her few friends and probably traumatized her. Could this day get any worse?

"Fancy seeing you here, Jane."

...It just got worse.

Sucking in a deep breath, Mary Jane turned to the all too familiar voice and found Felicia Hardy smirking back at her, "Felicia." She hadn't seen her ever since she left last year. She almost felt offended she didn't even call when she got back.

"What's with the sour look. Not happy to see me?"

"Not everything's about you."

"Says the woman who named her band after herself." Felicia snorted.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be patrolling or something with Cindy?"

"I'm a consultant, not a full time officer. She doesn't pay me enough to play the hero. As for what I'm doing here." She gestured to Prima Donna, "I was offered by Kingsley enterprises to help model their new line of work. I almost refused till I saw your name on the list of models and I wanted to be sure for myself."

"Well, here I am. Hope that gets your rocks off."

"So cold. And here I thought you'd be more happy to see me." Mary Jane rolled her eyes, "But come, work comes first and all that. We'll be doing this next shoot together and then we can catch up on old times." There was something flirtatious in her smile and, much as she hated to admit it, there was a sudden prickling in her chest.

"...Fine, I'm too hot and tired to complain. Let's just go before my mood gets any worse."

* * *

**BernieBear: **Anyone seen the new Kingsley fashion line?

**Reply from ****Victoriagraph: **Yeah. Some of my friends think it's weird that some of the models look so plain but I think it makes the outfit pop up more.

**Reply from JustMonika: **OMG Black Cat is one the latest one!

**Reply from BernieBear: **Seriously?!

**Reply from JustMonika: **Yeah, she's doing pair work with some other girl. Here **-embeddedimage-**

**Reply from SunshineGLOOM: **I recognize her! That's **JackpotWatson.** We share a calc class.

**Reply from BernieBear: **Didn't those two do a concert a couple years ago that got attacked by ninjas?

**Reply from JustMonika: **Funny how those two seem to always end up together...

* * *

"Here you go, granma. Enjoy."

Lana poured soup on the bowl and grinned sarcastically up at the grouchy figure in front of her. Agnes Miller, a grouchy old woman who was as nasty as she was smelly; and she smelled horrible. She was one of the older residents at the shelter, in and out enough that it was pretty much assumed she'd die here too. So far she hadn't had any family try to get her or seemed to have any plans outside of living day to day.

Agnes didn't like her, which was just fine since Lana didn't much like her either. It all started when Lana got her drink wrong (coffee with _no sugar_) and spiraled on from there.

The old bat didn't so much as say thank you before she left to eat at 'her' table. Lana continued to serve the rest of the line in a much better mood.

It was Sue's idea for them to work at the F.E.A.S.T shelter since they had some free time. Lana worked here before, mostly because William 'insisted' she had to look the part of an Initiative graduate, but she came back now and again when she wasn't too busy. Felt nice to help people without having to blow something up even when people like Agnes acted like entitled pricks.

Felt even better with everyone else here. Sue and MVP were next to her serving soup while Aracely and Anya were at the back helping prepare food and wash dishes. Gabe was off somewhere helping the shelter head update their tech, "Please tell us if you need anything else." Sue gave the guy in front of her a billion dollar smile and he laughed awkwardly. Another guy with a crush on America's sweetheart.

MVP wasn't doing too bad either considering how some of the other residents looked at him. Probably waiting for him to reach magic number 18.

Lana caught Gabe sitting in the corner bench and smirked, "Hey, Sue, I'll be back in a bit." The blonde waved her off and she made her way towards him, "Hey, super hacker. Done helping spyproof the place?"

"Nothing that complicated." Gabe looked up at her with a small smile and scooted so she could sit next to him, "Just had to fix this place's software. That computer's from 1997." He turned the laptop around to face her, "I'm updating their website too. Ms. Page's donations are good but we need more than just the D.A giving money. Maybe a new ad or something."

"Anything I can do to help?"

"Actually, yeah. Mr. Murphy thinks that...well, he thinks that some big names appearing on a promotional vid would get more donations..."

"So he wants me and everyone else to talk to his place up." Gabe nodded. Lana sighed, "Really should've seen that coming." So far she'd avoided advertisements. Sure she had to show up with William sometimes when he cut a ribbon but that was it.

"Yeah. I told him that it's probably a no go."

"Shit...fuck it, let's do it. If it gets more money put into this place I'm all for it. I'm guessing Anya and MVP'll be all for it too, but for Sue...she's probably gotta ask her managers or something."

"Well, tell me if she's cool with it. Me and Anya can write a script in a few days."

"Cool. Speaking of Sue." Lana grinned while Gabe winced, "How's it feel knowing America's Sweetheart has a crush on you?"

"Uh...dunno what you're talking about." He pointedly looked away.

"You know you're a shit liar, Gabe."

"But it's just...I mean, Aracely herself said that her mind reading is really confusing! Maybe when she said Sue 'liked' me she really meant that Sue was just happy to have a friend." Lana crossed her arms and gave him a flat look, "...Okay, stop looking at me like that. It's painful."

"I just don't get why you're in denial about it."

"Because just look at me. Anya's some kind of special spirit hunter, Michael's the next Captain America, Sue's a big time celebrity, Aracely can read minds and you..." He breathed out slowly, "All I'm saying is I don't really stack up compared to all of you. I mean I'm surprised you're all even still friends with me, so Sue having a-"

Lana flicked him in the forehead, "Are you forgetting that if it wasn't for you me and Anya would've never found out about that shit going down at the docks?"

"But-"

She flicked him again, "Or the fact that you and Frogboy - but mostly you - helped save Aracely?"

"That was-"

One last flick for good measure, "Stop beating yourself up, Gabe. You know the reason Sue likes you? Cause you found the creep that was stalking her and she didn't even have to ask. You're a good guy, that's all she cares about. That's all we care about. So shut up with this 'I'm not good enough' bullshit or I'm locking you and Sue in a room for a week."

"...That's an odd threat." Gabe leaned back on the bench and looked up at the ceiling, "...What about you? You know both me and Michael have...you know."

"Yeah. I'm flattered." She shrugged. That was the truth, at least, "I'm just not into the whole dating gig right now. Between the Initiative, Aracely and my old crush on Pete I'm really not in the right place for it. And I'm not conceited enough to ask you to 'wait for me' or whatever Romeo Juliet bullshit people think is romantic. Go out with Sue. I think you two can really hit it off."

"...Sure. I'll try."

Gabe nodded and, after a moment to steady himself, closed the laptop and walked over to where Sue was. Lana couldn't hear what they were saying, but judging by the wide eyed smile and hug Sue gave him she guessed it was good, "Nice job." She laughed under her breath. Just cause she had bad luck with her love life didn't mean her friends had to too. Now she just had to do something about Anya and MVP...

Someone sat next to her. Lana paid them no mind till they suddenly said, "Don't see you around here often." The voice was vaguely familiar. Lana looked and found a guy with a beanie, surgical mask and a hood that masked almost all his features. Probably another bum.

"Yeah, I pitch in when I can."

"Heh. Really owning that hero thing, huh, Boomgal?"

Lana's blood froze even before he took the masks off, "Bullseye..." Peter warned her that he came back. She'd prepared herself to get attacked, but as the weeks passed and other problems piled up she got more and more complacent.

"The one and only." His smile was wide and manic. She raised a hand to blast him and he quickly grabbed it, "Ah, ah, ah! Wouldn't do that if I were you." He gestured with his eyes and she followed to a group of bums dressed in red scattered around the F.E.A.S.T hall. She caught the hint of a knife one of them had on their wrists, "'Less you want people to get their throats slit I suggest calming down."

"...What are you doing here?" She wrenched her hand from his grip and looked to her friends. Most of them were still working but she caught Anya's eye and blinked three times in succession. It was a signal.

"Just thought I could catch up with the old gang." He grinned down at her, "Things've changed since I came back. Moonie's trying to be a dad, Ol' Frankie's gone MIA, Kitty Cat's working with the cops and you decided to go for the hero thing. But you know what really breaks my heart?" His grin turned nasty, "Finding out the kid's in bed with Murdock. That's just a giant kick in the face."

"What, you're gonna tell me that's why you went even more psycho? Gimme a fucking break." She spat.

"Huh? Oh no, even if he didn't I'd still try to kill him." The nasty grin disappeared and he shrugged, "This just gives me a little extra push. First I'll go after the people he cares about then I'll go after him. Can't beat the classics."

"That's why you're here." To kill her.

He grabbed her again and pulled till their faces were inches apart, "Don't worry, I'll make sure the kid has a body to find."

"You first, asshole."

She reared back and headbutted him before blasting the psychotic bastard through the wall. The red-clad 'bums' moved and she did the first thing she could think of. Lana blasted the sprinklers and a cascade of water came down, distracting the ninjas for a crucial few seconds, "Anya, MVP! Bums in red have knives!" She dashed to the closest one and kicked him.

Anya jumped over the counter and pulled back another ninja with a line of webbing while MVP grabbed a tray and threw it at another, somehow managing to ricochet it to a second ninja's head, "This isn't how I thought this day would go!" Anya screamed. The blue carapace covered her entire body and she used it to block a knife aimed at one of the older bums, "What are the Hand doing here?!"

"Can we save it for later?!" MVP ducked under the frenzied slashes and knocked out another one.

Sue, Gabriel and Aracely tried their best to lead the people to the exit, but the panic made it difficult. This was going nowhere,"You two try to help the evacuation! I'll deal with these assholes!" Lana shouted.

"But-"

"Go!"

Lana blasted another ninja trying to make a charge when a knife suddenly cut through her right shoulder. She screamed and pulled it out, the wound healing a few seconds afterwards, "Oooh, that's new! Got some upgrades since I last saw you!" She couldn't see him. She looked around frantically before another thrown knife at her leg almost made her fall, "Guessing it still hurts though."

"You want me?! Come and get, you fucking asshole!"

"Hm...better idea."

And then she saw the grenade fly through the air. Right towards Sue who was trying help one of the bums in crutches. Lana didn't think and just dashed to where the two where. There was no time to yell out a warning or make sure they were all out of the way of the blast radius.

She pushed them out of the way just as the grenade landed and she forced herself on top of it. She could've sworn she heard that bastard laugh before the explosion came and everything went black.

Lana wasn't sure if it killed her, but everything definitely hurt. Her vision faded in and out and she barely saw the dark boots stepping closer and closer to her before Bullseye knelt down, "Gotta admit, I'm impressed. That took some guts right there." It hurt to breath, hurt to keep her eyes open. Her body was stitching itself back together but it was slow, "Wonder if you knew you'd survive that."

"I'm...gonna..."

"Save your breath, you'll need it to say your goodbyes." He pulled out a knife and stabbed her in the gut. Lana screamed, loud and hoarse, and he _twisted_, "Tell the kid I'm always thinkin' about him."

He pulled the knife out and walked away, whistling a jaunty tune to himself. Lana just lay there on the ground with nothing but the sprinklers for company as her wounds healed from the fire and shrapnel.

The wound in her gut stayed.

Her friends came rushing back. They knelt all around her, pushing a cloth into the wound and offering words of comfort that she couldn't even make out. The cut continued to bleed despite everything they did and the burning pain kept her from focusing. Lana closed her eyes and let herself drift off into unconsciousness.

* * *

**NewsBot: **Attack at the **F.E.A.S.T shelter** in Hell's Kitchen. Anybody close stay away from the area.

**Reply from Eliminator01: **Wait WTF happened?

**Reply from Tempest: **Dunno. My bro's close by and he said he heard explosions and people started running outside.

**Reply from Automator: **At the site. Apparently a bunch of bums went postal and tried to stab everyone. **Striker**, **MVP** and a few others were there.

**Reply from BeepBeepBeep: **What kind of asshole attacks a homeless shelter?

**Reply from Eliminator01: **Whoever they are let's hope they got their asses kicked.

* * *

**Gwen seems to be doing well. Mary Jane and Lana not so much. Hellfire to the gut hurts. Something tells me Peter's not going to be very forgiving towards Bullseye after this.**

**Dunno when the next update will be but hopefully this one was good. Next chapter will go back to Noir's undercover segments and dealing with the fallout of Lana's hellfire stabbing. **

**Questions:**

**1\. Even though it was meant to be a joke at the end of the Spider-Girl Extra, do you guys want a chapter with the cast temporarily trapped in 616? Noir interacting with 616 Daredevil and/or Bullseye could be amusing, at least.**

**2\. Do you guys want more focus on Noir's more esoteric friends/allies? Ghost Rider, Daimon and Satanna seem decently popular despite their limited appearances and I could write more supernatural segments such as exorcisms, haunting etc etc when Noir interacts with them. Or I use Deadpool since Noir mentions working with him as well. **

**Review Answers:**

**Yami666x - Noir can't use symbiotes.**

**Titan616 - In MJ's case she'd probably discourage Gwen or Peter getting mad on her behalf. She's an adult, she can make her own choices good or ill.**

**KasugaRomio - Bullseye being resurrected makes reconciliation difficult since Matt's the reason he was dead for the Hand to raise.**

**Yohart Meltz - Yep, rated T. There really isn't much gore here and everything's tamer than V1.**


	31. Acceptance

**Sorry for delays. Christmas and anxiety and bla bla bla. This chapter's a shorty since I wanted to get it out of the way so Peter's undercover segment gets its own focus. **

**This'll be another Mary Jane chapter, but the good news for those who aren't too fond of those are that this'll be my last one for her for a while. The next few chapters will focus primarily on Noir, Gwen and Cindy along with (hopefully) some actual superhero action stuff for Gwen. She needs more fight scenes considering her power spot. **

**Anyway, on the job voting front working the theater with MJ has a 1 vote lead over being an assistant PI or being a photographer. I'll leave it up for a chapter or two then I'll take it down and write the job Noir will get.**

* * *

**ADHOCpi: **Does anyone else wonder why **Spider-Man's** even a hero/vigilante?

**Reply from VaxHax:** Why does _anyone_ decide to put on a costume and go beat up people? Pretty sure it's just a sex thing.

**Reply from ADHOCpi: **But seriously tho just look at his history. Dude tried to turn himself in the worlds first lizard school shooter, died and then came back with another version's memories. According to the **Black Cat Interviews** and** Spider-Womans **own comments he remembered who he was a few months in but he still kept being a hero. Why?

**Reply from rightbehindyou: **Who knows? Im just glad he didn't decide to go full supervillain.

**Reply from PunisherWasRight:** Hell why _isn't_ he a supervillain? The guy's entire backstory reeks of it. Bullied nerd who tried to get back at everyone and got killed for it. You'd think he'd hate Spider-Woman not make out with her.

**Reply from Skrullsdidnothingwrong: **Who the eff knows? Unless he goes to sit down for an interview we can just keep guessing.

**Reply from RorschachCompromise**: Hell you could say this about any of the 'anti-heroes'. Former mercs, soldiers and agents who decide to run around playing dress up is just weird to me. Guess it makes sense that Spider-Woman and **Hawkeye** are so normal - being heiresses means they weren't as fucked up.

* * *

So...she slept with Felicia again.

...

_Fuck_.

Mary Jane groaned and stared up at the ceiling, right arm covering her eyes. She shouldn't be here. She should be back home binging on ice cream as a giant fuck you to Prima Donna telling her she needed smaller thighs and trying to pretend she didn't hate herself half the time. It was how she spent most of her days when she wasn't 'out on the town' with Crimson.

Now she was here, in Felicia's bed with cats sprawled all across room and the woman herself nonchalantly sitting next to her. Mary Jane shifted her am and peeked at the bed's other occupant. Felicia sat leisurely, covered by the fancy negligee she'd just slipped into. Black silk because of course it was. Only the best for Felicia Hardy, popstar vigilante police consultant.

She could blame the wine they drank or the fact that she was pent up, but that was all bullshit. As much as Mary Jane hated to admit it she..._trusted_ Felicia. She didn't love her - and most days she couldn't even say she _liked_ her - but the help she gave her last year was hard to forget. Her, Peter, Gayle and Norah were the only reason she hadn't gone insane those first few days.

On the bright side Crimson was 'sleeping' now. She didn't needs it voice in her head.

Mary Jane grabbed one of the discarded shirts and put it on lethargically. She didn't have anything to hide; she just didn't like those cats staring at her. Apart from Murderface she always found them creepy, "Leaving already?" Felicia asked, turning slightly to look back at her. Mary Jane didn't reply and the silver-blonde shrugged and got a packet of cigarettes from the nearby drawer.

The smell of nicotine filled the air and Mary Jane scrunched her nose. She'd smelled worse, but compared to the perfume it felt like a harsh slap to the face, "...Thought you wouldn't take that stuff," she said after putting on her shorts. Felicia raised a brow at her, "You're a singer, you know what that stuff does to you."

"I hardly smoke like a chimney the way Spider does. An occasional reward is fine. The last time I indulged was over a year ago when Spider and I...talked."

"You could just say you fucked him. No need to be coy around me; I'm not Gwen." Gwen probably didn't know the two of them slept together and Mary Jane was gonna keep it that way. Last thing Peter needed was more paranoid looks, "Still not a good idea to take that, though. Ever heard of lung cancer?"

Felicia laughed, soft and lyrical. Mary Jane felt envious at how automatic it was for her, "Yes. Between the thieving, fighting and everything else I get involved in I'm sure it'll be lung cancer that finally does me in." And then, just to prove a point, she inhaled and blew out a thick plume of rich smoke, "By the time I'm old enough to get it I'd consider it long overdue."

"That's what my uncle Lou thought too whenever Aunt Joanna told him to quit the habit. You can guess what happened to him."

"To be frank, Jane, I don't expect to live long enough for that to be an issue," Felicia said, "I don't have any illusions of starting a family, living to old age or any of that suburban fantasy. Long, far off risks aren't really a factor for me."

"That's grim..."

"I think you mean realistic. Let's face it, Jane, the lives we lead aren't exactly risk-free. Powers or no eventually our luck runs out and I've got no illusions otherwise. Bullseye was proof of that."

"...Didn't he come back to life?"

"As some kind of twisted revenant even more insane than he was previously, you mean? That's not much better than death." Mary Jane hummed. She had a point there, "Still, you'd best not dwell on it. You could die today or you could die in 50 years. I say live in the present."

"That's a pretty long winded way to say why you smoke cigs."

"You were the one who asked." Felicia smirked and offered her the packet, "Want one?"

"Tried it before. Wasn't my thing." Crimson wasn't a fan of the stuff either. One of the few things they agreed on, "Besides I think I'm pushing my luck already with all that wine I drank." She still remembered the taste of it on her tongue. Felicia didn't skimp on her alcohol, that's for sure, "And I really should be going. Don't wanna overstay my welcome..."

"Nonsense. I rarely have visitors." She gestured to the room. The apartment was smaller than the giant penthouse she had a year ago. Nothing like apartment she, Gwen and Peter shared, but it was definitely less fancy than before. View wasn't as good either, "I think they're getting lonely here since I'm away so often." Those creepy freaking cats were still staring at her.

"If only people knew Felicia Hardy, vigilante popstar, was really just a crazy cat lady."

"And Spider-Woman is the drummer of a low tier band while Scarlet Spider is the mediocre singer of said band. The reality often disappoints, hm?" Mary Jane glared while Felicia just smiled coyly, "Speaking of bands, I'll be doing a concert in a week's time and I'm missing an opening act. Would the Mary Janes be interested?"

"Really don't need a pity gig." Actually they did, but hell if she'd let her know that. She tried to advertise the band ever since they started playing again but the Spider-Woman hype had officially died down. The best they could do nowadays was a night gig at some old family restaurant trying to stay hip. Half of them even offered to pay!

"No pity. Despite our disagreements I'm not ashamed to admit your music is...acceptable." Mary Jane rolled her eyes, "So what do you say?"

"Depends. We gonna get attacked by ninjas again?" Ninjas that Felicia _deliberately lured there_, mind you. She could be a bitch at the best of times.

"Doubtful. I haven't joined in Spider's new crusade."

"Yeah...why didn't you?"

"Because his war isn't mine. I joined him to get revenge on Murdock, and I didn't even get that." The last words were said in a bitter whisper, "I will admit that helping him against the Carnage Killer and those madmen with the pumpkin masks didn't align with that, but they were an active threat. A bunch of corrupt old men and women are none of my concern."

"So much for the Defenders, I guess."

"Partnerships are much easier than groups. You would know, wouldn't you?"

...She knew. Sighing, Mary Jane swung her legs over the edge and sat next to Felicia. The older woman didn't resist when she grabbed the cigarette from her hand and took a slow inhale, "...Nope, doesn't help." She exhaled a smoky breath. She idly noted there was some of Felicia's lipstick at the tip, "Never going to get why you and Tiger are into this."

"It's an acquired taste, I suppose. It gets better with time." Felicia took it back and inhaled. Somehow she made it look graceful, "And you're changing the subject." She offered her the cigarette again.

Mary Jane took it back and reluctantly inhaled, "Don't really know what to say." She coughed slightly and tried again, "I teamed up with the guy that murdered your dad. Or was possessed by the demon who murdered your dad. Depends on what you think." She handed it back, "How'd you even find out about it? Cindy told you?"

"An explanation wouldn't be amiss. I'll admit I'm curious on what started this partnership. And yes, she did. Admittedly she just let it slip due to her frustration. I expect the only reason she did so is because she knows I won't tell Spider and Stacy."

"That's a relief, I guess." Mary Jane pursed her lips and gave it back, "As for this 'partnership'...wasn't like I went looking for him. Ran into him when he was getting the crap kicked out of him by a couple of Russians. And you think 'he deserves it' and sure I can see that but he was trying to save a kid they kidnapped so I figured helping him out wasn't the worse thing I could do."

"And after?"

"Same target. Went after the guy who sold his daughter to that monster Arcade and apparently he was doing the same thing. After that he got a list of people connected to other people that the world could do without."

"I had a hunch that you were responsible for that string of serial killings." Mary Jane winced. Hearing it from someone else felt like a punch in the face, "I'm surprised Stacy hasn't stopped you before now, though she's always been biased to her friends. And those she sleeps with." Mary Jane took the offered cigarette and inhaled spitefully, "How is Spider, by the by?"

"Turned into a 7 year old and went undercover in some kind of cult."

Felicia didn't look surprised at all, "Of course he has." She stared at the cigarette, "Acquired a taste for it yet?"

"Not really." She coughed out smoke and handed it back to her, "...I admit, I thought you'd be more upset about it."

"You're not my pet, Jane. I can't control who you spend your time with. I'm not like Spider-Woman." Mary Jane's eyes narrowed at the implication, "That's not to say I'm happy about it, of course, but I've made my share of compromises." And then she smiled. Not good, "That said I do have an alternative."

"This should be good..."

"Partner up with me instead."

Mary Jane just stared blankly, waiting for the punchline. It didn't come, "...Sorry, I must've misheard that. What?"

"I'll be your partner instead," she repeated casually, "I doubt you have any attachment to that _diable_ and it's not as if I don't have experience in vigilante work."

"This isn't exactly beating up muggers and leaving them for the police..."

"You're a killer." The way she said it, blunt and without a hint of judgement, made her feel conflicted, "But so what? Spider's a killer and so is Baumgartner. Different shades but in the end the result is the same. I fought alongside Castle, Moon Knight and that psychopath Bullseye. I'm sure I can do the same for the oh so great Scarlet Spider."

"Why are you doing this? Just because you hate Murdock?"

"Maybe I secretly care about you." Felicia smirked and offered her the cigarette again. Mary Jane took it numbly, "It couldn't have been easy living with that thing for a year. Stacy would judge you while Murdock would gleefully push you farther and farther. I like to think I'm a better option."

"I..."

Her phone rang. Mary Jane scanned through the message and her mouth went dry, the cigarette falling from between her fingers, "What's wrong?" Felicia asked.

"Lana got attacked. She's at the hospital now, critical condition." She licked her suddenly dry lips. She wasn't the younger girl's best friend or anything but she liked her well enough, "Gwen and Cindy are going over there. I should...probably go too."

"I'll join you then. Suppose I should visit my old teammate."

They swung over to the hospital with nothing but the wind for company. Even now, a year later, Mary Jane was impressed at how easily the former cat burglar kept up with her. Murdock had super senses and ninja training. Felicia was self taught and just as confident. She wished she could be like that.

Mary Jane landed on a nearby alleyway and ran a hand through her long, red hair. Most hospitals nowadays were built to handle Initiative Heroes. Problem was they weren't Initiative Heroes, "I like the hair," Felicia hummed behind her, "It's a good look on you."

"Just make sure not to touch. Crimson gets testy." Mary Jane grinned back weakly and made her way inside. The receptionist went bug eyed when she saw the two of them in full costume behind her but still managed to direct her to Lana's room.

The patients and some of the staff stared at them as they walked the halls. Most of them were probably used to superheroes dropping in (charity visits were at an all time high now) but they weren't the type to make visits. Hell, as far as the world knew Scarlet Spider was just another vigilante. Police could arrest her even without the serial killer thing.

The inside of the room was packed. Lana's friends, a woman who she assumed was her mom. Gwen and Cindy were outside, both of them still in full costume. Even through the costume she could tell Gwen was pissed, her suit thrumming and vibrating, while Cindy paced and muttered with narrowed eyes. They looked like they wanted to murder someone.

Gwen eventually noticed her arrival and calmed down, "Ma- _Scarlet_. Glad you're here." She looked past her to Felicia, "Didn't expect to see you, Black Cat."

"I wanted to check in on my old teammate. How is she?"

"Not good," Cindy muttered, "That crazy bastard Bullseye attacked the F.E.A.S.T shelter and hit her with that old knife Peter had. Whatever's in that thing the stab in he gut won't heal. Any time they try to stitch it the thread melts and she just bleeds more and more." She shut her eyes tightly, "They can't even give her a blood transfusion cause she doesn't have blood! All we can do is try to stop the bleeding."

"Hellfire then." Felicia scowled lightly, "If I'm remembering correctly wounds of that kind won't heal, not without the intervention of that 'chi' nonsense."

"I know that! But we don't _have_ any chi here!" Cindy snapped, "The only one I know who even has a guess of what that stuff is is Pete and he's off playing James Bond kiddie edition!"

"Could we find Iron Fist and any of those other ninjas he hangs around with?" Mary Jane asked.

"We don't have time for that. Lana's bleeding out in there and I'm not sure how much longer we can stall it." Gwen brought a hand through her face and breathed in deeply, "Cindy called up some of her old S.H.I.E.L.D contacts. No dice. Wherever the ninja fanclub is we can't get to them."

And then it hit her: she knew someone else who could help. Mary Jane's right hand drifted towards the 'pocket' and the phone contained within. Felicia and Cindy seemed to realize what she was thinking and both stared at her, the former in curiosity and the latter with a pleading desperation. Gwen just looked at the three of them in confusion. She didn't know.

Taking a deep breath, the masked redhead pulled out her phone and hit the number on her contact list. He answered after the second ring, "Oh? I expected you to wait at least a few days before contacting me again-"

"Saint Mercy's hospital. Come here quick, and don't bother changing out of your costume."

"This is a rather abrupt invitation. I'm sad to say that I must refuse. I'm rather busy at the-"

"Lana just got attacked by your old pal Bullseye and she's got a gut stab that won't heal. Whatever the hell you're doing with Spider-Man can wait when his sister's not dying." No response, "Get over here. Now."

"...I'm assuming this means the cat's out of the bag?"

"Guess so."

She cut the call and resisted the urge to smash her phone into the nearby wall. Cindy's face slackened in slight relief while Felicia raised a brow. Gwen just looked at her, "...Who was that?" She already had her suspicions. That Bullseye guy didn't have many 'old pals' who could use the magic glowy stuff.

"You'll see soon enough." She pocketed the phone, "Are you sure it's safe for us to be here...?" Mary Jane gestured to some of the milling nurses and patients. All of them kept their distance, but she saw a few of the nurses sneaking photos from their phones.

"Probably safest if we stay here, honestly." Cindy looked inside the room, "Those ninja psychos'll think twice attacking this place now that a couple of Avengers are around. I'm more worried about Felicia. You sure this guy won't attack you too?"

"Doubtful. I'm guessing Striker was attacked and left like this because that psychopath wanted to send a message to Spider. Considering the two of us weren't particularly close I doubt I'll be a prime target."

"You better watch your back anyway. I don't wanna see another friend at the hospital."

"I didn't realize you cared so much about me." Felicia smirked cockily, though Mary Jane could see the appreciation she tried to hide. She looked to Gwen. "I'm surprised Spider isn't here. What was that Spinerette said about him playing the spy?"

"He's-"

"Best we not divulge too much information, Spider-Woman." Mary Jane turned to the new voice and grimaced when she saw the Devil of Hell's Kitchen in all his glory walking down the hallway. Even with the hallway full of Costumes he stuck out like a sore thumb. She wouldn't have been surprised if he gave a couple of people heart attacks, "Wouldn't want his work to go to waste, would we?"

The eyes of Gwen's masks widened, "What are you..." She looked between him and Mary Jane. Mary Jane didn't - couldn't - look her in the eye, "How does she-"

"I believe we'll have time for 20 questions later. Right now Ms. Baumgartner is the priority." He tilted his head slightly towards the room, "Hmm...odd. Her heartbeat is irregular. Another change caused by her second exposure, I assume."

"Can you help her or not?" Cindy asked snappily.

"Perhaps." Without any more fanfare he slipped past them and strode into the room like he owned the place. Two of Lana's friends and her mom immediately moved to block him before Cindy followed and explained. Mary Jane turned around and stared at the wall, pointedly refusing to acknowledge Gwen staring at her back. Cat really was out of the bag now.

"Scarlet." Gwen said. Mary Jane didn't look at her, "Scarlet, you have to-" Gwen grabbed her shoulder. She shrugged her off and moved to slip past when Gwen locked her wrist in a vice grip, "God damn it,_ look at me!_"

Mary Jane slowly turned to face her and it took everything she had not to wrench her arm out of her grip. Even through the mask she could see the surprise and _hurt_ on Gwen's face.

"...Why do you have his number?" Gwen asked, so soft that she almost didn't hear it despite how close they were.

"Long story."

"Don't give me that. You owe me more."

"I-"

The door slid open and Murdock stepped out with Cindy in tow. If the other Spider saw the awkward situation she didn't comment on it, "I've done as much as I can." Murdock said.

"So she's alright now?" Cindy asked.

"Yes and no. I've stopped the bleeding and she's currently stable, but the wound itself won't heal. I'm afraid healing of that nature is beyond me."

"I assumed that it was one of the few things you were good for," Felicia said, arms crossed and giving him an unimpressed look.

"Perhaps if Ms. Baumgartner hadn't been so altered. Chi was never intended for use with the Gifted in mind, and Ms. Baumgartner is even more changed than her peers. Even Spider-Woman has blood, as tainted by radiation as it is." The barb made Gwen's grip loose enough for Mary Jane to slip her arm out. Gwen didn't notice, "It's doubtful anyone but Ms. Durand would be able to help her. She's the only one with prior experience dealing so intimately with the Gifted."

"What about Iron Fist?" Cindy asked.

"I'm afraid he has even less experience than me in healing the Gifted. And regardless he's preoccupied with another task that requires his full attention. I myself had to leave Mr. Parker to his circumstances due to Scarlet Spider's plea."

The sudden reminder of Peter's non-presence made the eyes of Gwen's mask twitch, "How...How is he?"

Murdock smiled, "He was captured and they're currently beating him to a pulp." Gwen's mask started moving and she saw the outline of a mouth forming, "I would've rescued him, of course, but Scarlet Spider insisted that I come here and so I left him to his fate. By the time I was leaving they were just about to take one of his eyes-"

Gwen lashed out to hit him square in the jaw. It would've hit if Mary Jane hadn't grabbed her wrist, the fist just an inch away from making contact. Murdock hadn't moved at all, "He's just messing with you." She tried to ignore the way her hand ached from the force of the grab. Just another reminder that Gwen was stronger than her, "I doubt he'd come here if he really was in danger."

"Fine, you caught me." The smug bastard put his hands up lightly, "He's still continuing with his own task. I left Moon Knight to babysit him."

"Just can't stop being an asshole for even a second, can you?" Mary Jane snarled.

"We find our fun where we can." He hummed, "Speaking of. Spider-Woman, I understand you wish to discuss the relationship between Scarlet Spider and I? If so then I think it's best we go somewhere more private."

The three of them made they way to the roof while Cindy and Felicia stayed behind to make sure no one was following them. Gwen pushed the door open so hard Mary Jane was surprised it didn't fall off its hinges, "There's no one else around, at least far as I can 'see'," Murdock said, "Regardless I think it's best if we make this brief. I do have my own work to get back to-"

"How do you two know each other?"

"That's a funny story-"

"Shut. Up." The mask peeled back to show Gwen's full glare. Her eyes were black and twisted while her grit teeth were unnaturally sharp. She didn't even realize she'd shown her face, "Don't talk to me or I swear to God I'll chuck you off this roof and toss what's left of you into the deepest, darkest hole I can find, damn whatever deal Peter made."

"Gwen-"

"Why?" She turned to her now and Mary Jane shrunk back, "Just..._why?_ It's bad enough that Peter got himself involved with this...piece of _shit_, but now you too?! Why?! Did everyone forget what he did last year?! He's a murderer! The people he's killed could fill entire graveyards! And now he's just running around laughing it up with two of the people I care about the most?! What the fuck!"

Graveyards...didn't the same apply to her? How many innocent people did Crimson and that bastard Kasady kill?

"Just let me-"

"Tell me this is the first time you've met him. Tell me that he just slipped his number on your phone or something or- or that he forced you into something. Just tell me that."

"I..." Mary Jane peeled back her own mask and looked down at the ground, "I've been going out at night doing...you know." Killing people, "I found him getting the hell kicked out of him by a couple of Russian gangsters."

"Hey now, I think I handled myself well enough," Murdock said in mock offense.

"Believe it or not this guy was trying to save a kid. And after that..." Mary Jane gave her the same explanation Felicia got earlier. Gwen kept quiet and listened. She didn't need to say anything - the judgement in her eyes was enough. Gwen thought she was getting to her, that maybe she could be a hero instead of just being another killer. She was hurt, betrayed..._disappointed_.

Mary Jane hated it.

"MJ-"

**_"Don't look at me like that."_** The distortion in her voice surprised even her, "What hell did you want me to do? Leave that kid to get kidnapped by those bastards? Let that piece of human garbage get away with selling his daughter for drug money? You may not like it, Gwen, but these 'people' can't just be punched and put into a jail cell. Isn't that why you let Peter off?"

"That's..."

"Working with Murdock was a mistake-"

"Ouch."

"-But what else was I supposed to do? He was the only one who had information. You know the last guy we went after? He was selling a _9 year old girl_ to a _cop _and bragging about how she hadn't even had her period yet! Do how know how..._disgusting_ that was? Every person on that damn list is someone the world can do better without and I don't feel guilty for it!"

The last words, screamed without a hint of restraint, felt both comforting and damning. At the end of the day that was what she was, wasn't she? A killer who went after people worse than herself because it made it easier not to feel sick when she looked at her reflection. She'd say she felt guilty, that she only kept going because of the deal with Crimson nothing else, but that wasn't the whole truth.

At the end of the day she felt _good_ when she killed those monsters. Saving their victims before they could die, knowing that they couldn't do it again or get away with what they did, it was the same way Gwen felt when she stopped the next villain in a costume and got cheered on by the people she saved. It was twisted and wrong and Mary Jane _didn't care_.

**_'You've finally stopped lying to yourself. Good.'_**

"MJ..." Gwen looked like she wanted to say something but the words couldn't come.

"I'm sorry. I know you wanted me to be a hero like you, but I just...I can't. Tiger can't live in a world where monsters get away with what they've done and neither can I. If you hate me for that then there's nothing I can say that'll change your mind."

"I could never hate you." Despite everything the declaration sounded firm, "I just...there has to be a better way than going out at night and partnering up with him, of all people." She turned to glare at Murdock. In all the rush Mary Jane had almost forgotten he was there, "You and Peter both kill people, I can live with that, just...let's try to find another way." She offered her a hand.

"I don't think I can, Gwen..."

She put the mask back on and swung away. Gwen mercifully didn't follow after her and soon enough Mary Jane found herself sitting on top of a skyscraper. She took off the mask and tossed it beside her before she hugged her knees close and pressed her face against her legs. She'd finally admitted it. All those months saying Crimson was responsible, that she wouldn't do this if she wasn't forced, gone. It was both of them.

_**'That went well.'**_

_'...How long have you been awake?'_

**_'I never truly sleep. You know that.' _**It jutted out of her shoulder and twisted till they were face to face,**_ "Doesn't it feel good to be honest with yourself?' The boytoy accepts what he is and so should you."_**

"Not sure if good's how I'd describe it..." If it were any other situation she would've laughed. This was probably the least hostile conversation they'd had ever since they were stuck together, "Well, I just told my best friend that I'm a serial killer and I didn't even pretend to feel bad about it."

**_'I'm proud of you.'_**

"Ah, shut up..." She let her knees fall and looked up at the night sky. Barely any stars as always. It was hard to admit, but it did feel good. Like a weight was finally taken off her shoulders, "I dunno what I'm going to do now."

**_"You still have that list."_**

"Yeah...but we need to establish ground rules." Crimson growled and she batted its head in annoyance, "Just because I've stopped lying to myself doesn't mean that everything was on me. For starters, all that horror movie slasher shit? None of that. If we're going to do this then we're going to do it clean. No stabbing a guy and watching him bleed out."

_**"What if he really deserves it?"**_

"I'll be the judge of that. And no more breaking the rules either. One chance for them to go to jail and that's that."

**_"You remember that _****you** **_were the one who broke that rule for the little girl's progenitor?"_**

"Doesn't stop you from trying to break my rules every other time." God, what the hell even was this? Was she seriously trying to bargain with the mad science (not) parasite on how to humanely murder people? "...You know how fucked up this is, right? If people ever found out what we were doing..."

_**"Oh please. Half of this toilet bowl of a city loves the boytoy and his other lackeys and they've killed far more than us. If you're really worried just find some other meat in a costume and tie him up for the police. I'm sure that will make them forgive whatever else you do."**_

"How sad is it that I can't even say you're wrong?" She smiled wryly and leaned back, resting her head on the building's slanted wall, "...I can't stay in the apartment now. Can't look Gwen in the face, not yet."

**_"You could stay with the one who has plenty of cats. They could even be good snacks-"_**

"I am _not_ eating a cat. The raw meat's bad enough."

_**"You eat cows and pigs but draw the line at cats and humans? I'll never understand you humans. Always so picky and needy." **_

"And that's why I'm the one making the rules." She pinched the bridge of her nose, "No, I'll just...I'll crash with Norah for a few days or something. Then maybe if I'm lucky when I talk to Gwen again she'll still consider me a friend."

Crimson said nothing and just shrunk back into her shoulder, leaving her to her own thoughts. The realization of her acceptance still left her torn. She was a monster who went after worse monsters and she was...well, not _happy_, but she could live with it. It was better than how she'd felt all year.

* * *

**Strelok:** So I heard that **Bullseye **and a bunch of homicidal bums were the ones who attacked the** F.E.A.S.T center.**

**Reply from Copycattraditore: **Guess he and** Spider-Man** really did have a falling out.

**Reply from tosufferistowin: **TBF what did yall expect? When you ally with psychotic murderers you really can't be surprised when they end up being psychotic murderers.

**Reply from OneLessDay: **Update on the Striker situation. Mom's a nurse at the hospital and she said that a bunch of heroes came to visit her. **Spider-Woman, Spinerette, Scarlet Spider, Black Cat **and even **Daredevil**!

**Reply from Copycattraditore: **Isn't telling you that against hospital rules or something?

**Reply from tosufferistowin: **Who cares? Spill the deets!

**Reply from OneLessDay: **She said she couldn't get too close but Scarlet Spider and Spider-Woman were definitely arguing about something. Spider-Woman almost punched Daredevil in the face before Scarlet Spider stopped her and then they went off to the roof. Couldn't follow cause Spinerette and Black Cat blocked everyone.

**Reply from tosufferistowin: **I did hear a rumor that Spider-Man was cheating on Spider-Woman with Scarlet Spider, that might be why they argued.

**Reply from Strelok:** Then why'd she try to punch Daredevil in the face? I seriously doubt it has anything to do with S-M. Looks like Spider-Woman doesn't like Daredevil for some reason. Wonder why?

* * *

**Mary Jane's fully accepted being an anti-hero...probably not a good thing. Oh well, at least this means future appearances will have her far less angsty and self-loathing so maybe we can get more of that confident, somewhat cocky Mary Jane from Volume 1 before she got infected. Hopefully this strikes a good enough balancing point for those who got tired of her constant woe is me narration.**

**And like I said above the next chapter will focus solely on Noir's spywork so hopefully we can get more a flow going here. Also means more violence since Hand ninjas are disposable fodder.**

**Questions:**

**1\. I asked before what segments you'd like to see more of but how about the opposite: what segments do you guys wanna see less of? Judging by reviews I'm guessing MJ segments but I'm still not sure.**

**2\. On a scale of 1-10, how important are fight and action segments to you guys? I'm not much a fan of them myself but given that this is a Superhero story I understand that it could be a main draw for at least some readers.**

**Review Answers:**

**Titan616 - Considering how this chapter started I don't think diplomacy completely failed :P As for Felicia, she was pretty chill about the partnership. For the most she has a more live and let live attitude compared to Gwen, as she herself points out.**

**G. Ward - Mary is Mary McPherran, better known as Titania. In canon she's an enemy of She-Hulk but here I made her MJ's contemporary to fit the theme. **


	32. James Bond Kiddie Edition

**Woof, not much response in the last chapter. Can't tell if it's cause we're near Christmas, people really don't like Mary Jane chapters or both. Either way hopefully this one gets more responses now that we've returned to Noir. **

**Anyway, I checked out the new Harley Quinn cartoon and it's giving me some ideas for some more worldbuilding chapters with the Initiative and normalization of heroes and villains. Having Gwen or Peter or Mary Jane trying to deal with villains who wanna be their nemesis or Peter clashing with certain Initiative groups who consider him a criminal could be fun to write. **

* * *

They'd settled into a routine now. A shared bath, breakfast in the morning, training of some kind for the next few hours, lunch, meditation then dinner. There was no deviation, no change from the rules. The food was always the same: tasteless meat in the mornings, bread and bland soup at lunch and more of the meat come dinnertime. Always the same portions, always the same seats with their 'overseers' watching over them.

The training wasn't much better. Learning to hit or how to take a hit. They alternated every day. Hitting wooden dummies with swords or their fists and the next day letting the person next to them wail on them till they gave up. The ones who lasted the longest got a pat on the head, the ones who gave up first didn't get food for the rest of the day. Not wanting to starve to death was a hell of a motivation.

Peter looked down at his bruised knuckles. He was lucky - powers meant he just had a few purple spots he could ignore. Some of the unluckier ones looked like they desperately needed to go to the hospital.

He scanned the room quickly. It'd been a little over a week since he was taken here and seeing the Hand's 'family bonding' first hand just made it clearer and clearer that the Beast wasn't the only monster. Bakuto and that woman, whatever it was they did it made these kids pliable. All of them wanted to please their new 'family' and those that resisted...they disappeared in the night and no one asked.

"Reilly, are you okay?" Peter looked up and smiled forcefully when he saw Hobie. Kid was sweet and he fell into the family talk quicker than most. That's what useless parents got you, he guessed.

"Y-Yeah, I'm okay." He didn't say anything about how swollen the other boy's right eye was. He really needed to get them out of her, "I'm just...Hobie, are you happy here?"

"Yep! Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well...your eye-"

"It's nothing," he interrupted forcefully, "Just...I'm happy here. Mr. Bakuto treats us like family and Ms. Blossom is really nice!" Ms. Blossom again. Cherry Blossom, real name unknown cause he was sure no one would actually call their kid that. She was the only reason (aside from fear of being killed) these kids hadn't left the first chance they had.

"If you say so..."

"What about you? Aren't you happy here?" There was something insistent in the way he asked.

"Of course I'm-"

'It'll be best if you indicate dissatisfaction,' Moon Knight suddenly chimed in, 'It is the best way we can ensure progress.'

"I'm really missing my family." Moon Knight better have the right idea... "M-My dad was really bad to me but my sister and mom always tried to help! I really wanna see them again..."

"O-Oh..." Hobie looked down and walk away. He'd tell one of the 'overseers' that he was having second thoughts and then the next night he'd be taken to where the rest of the 'rebellious' kids were. Shaking his head, he lied back down on the bed and put the covers over his entire body. He'd managed to hide the makeshift shiv on him for now. He got the feeling he'd be using it soon.

And just as it always did the lights went out. Peter waited for at least an hour before stuffing his pillows under the covers and disappearing into smoke. There were cameras in the room, but they had to turn sometime. He waited till it shifted to the right side then let himself fall quietly to the floor and rush under the camera's line of sight. Every security system had a blind spot.

He pressed himself against the wall underneath the camera and appeared again. One of the goons would come in to check in a couple of minutes and he'd have to slip by. He wasn't sure if even opening the door by himself would trigger some kind of alarm, but he wasn't going to test it.

He disappeared again when he heard footsteps. The goon walked in for his daily route and Peter slipped past him before the door closed. It'd be another couple of hours before the next check so he had to make this quick. He made his way to the nearby storage room (the door was always ajar, so it was easy to get in) and hid behind one of the boxes before reappearing again. All this running and hiding was getting on his nerves.

"Moon Knight, you there?"

"Update."

"This is gonna be the last time I can go out. Better be something good."

"Yes. The tracers you've placed around the area have given us a clearer picture of the building. Go to the hallway on your right and then follow my directions."

"Where are you leading me?"

"If I'm right then we can find the information on where the rest of the conversion centers are. After this the Angeltouched and the Chaste can handle the rest."

"Like they 'handled' this war before we got involved? No thanks. I'll be there too." He disappeared again and ran down the length of the hall, making sure to reappear only when he was under a camera's blind spot. 7 days. 7 days of playing the hapless child all for this. He was going to burn this place to the ground when he was done and he'd make sure Bakuto and that siren he had wouldn't live through the night.

Peter stopped at the designated door and twisted the knob. Locked, as expected, "Really wish I took some of those Dyne particles when I had the chance..." According to Moon Knight he'd need a harness and a way to use both those and the counter particles. The alternative was being stuck at an inch tall and that was the last thing he or Gwen needed right now.

"Can't pick the lock here. Gonna trip an alarm if I just kick the door down."

"You will not need to. You will let yourself be captured afterwards so there is no need to be subtle now."

"...You better explain that part."

"Bakuto leaves frequently in order to gather more 'recruits'. If they find someone - even a child - gathering information then he will be forced to return. That is when we can kill him."

"Still not selling me on this plan. You got any idea what they'll do when they catch me?"

"It is very likely they will torture you and attempt to know who sent you. You will not die, at least not until they get the information they require." The completely neutral way he said it just ticked him off even more, "You simply need to last until Bakuto arrives. After that we will extract you. I suggest putting up a fight when they capture you. It will make them more curious of your origins."

"You know, sometimes I ask myself why I hate you all. Then I remember." He sighed and extracted the shiv, "You better not leave me here or I swear I'll dig myself up out of the grave again and make sure you don't come back."

"Noted. Now, the information."

Peter bit back another curse and slipped the shiv between the door and the wall. A few shimmies and a tug later and the door swung open with a loud creak, "They probably heard that..." He ran inside and started scouring the cabinets, "Right, I have a list of names here."

"Read them out."

"Safehouse 1's in Grand Central avenue at the Jefferson building. Safehouse 2 at Central Park close to Belvediere castle. Safehouse 3..." He read them as fast he could. There were at least two dozen safehouses with even more in the next pages. How many kids did they take every night, he wondered. How many did they break till there was nothing left but puppets for them to throw away?

How many of them could they save before it was too late?

He finished up the last safehouse by the time he heard footsteps, "The Chaste will use the information wisely. When they capture you do not use your powers. If they assume you to be a young Chaste agent then they will underestimate you."

"Hating this plan the more I hear about it."

Two goons kicked the door down and started shouting at him. Get down on his knees and don't struggle, all that usual stuff. A few more goons came from behind them with batons and syringes. All this just for a kid. The Hand really took quantity over quality to the extreme.

The closest goon grabbed his arm and Peter struck. He stabbed the shiv clean through his neck. Blood spurted out, covering his face and the white outfit in blood, "What-" The next thug got the shiv through the eye and fell on his back. Peter stabbed him two more times for good measure then slunk back, holding onto the bloodied metal like his life depended on it.

"He's feral. Take him down!"

He ducked the first swing of the nightstick and stabbed the attacker in the gut again and again. His spider-sense blared and he forced himself to stay still so they could hit him in the back of the head. Peter screamed and fell on his side as the rest of the goons continued to wail on him. He was gonna get one of those sticks and shove it down Moon Knight's throat when he got out of here.

Eventually the beatings stopped and one of the goons with syringes came closer. Peter made a show of struggling and then falling limp when the needle pierced skin. Tranquilizer, same kind they dosed the kids with a week ago. He kept his eyes shut as they carried him down to the basement. Same place they put the 'unruly' kids who didn't follow the Hand's line of bullshit.

They shoved him into a straightjacket before dumping him into a cell. Peter waited a few minutes then opened his eyes, growling and struggling against the restraints like the kid they thought he was.

The place was the opposite of the rooms. Dark and dank with metal bars to keep him trapped. He stalked closer to the rusted metal and kicked it experimentally. Could probably break it down if he had enough time, "D-Don't do that!" He turned to the new (female) voice and growled again when he saw the cell next to him filled to the brim with all the 'rebels'.

They looked horrible. Pale, clammy skin, dark bags under their eyes and obvious signs of malnourishment, their faces were bruised and cut and covered in dried blood. This was the stick - beating and breaking them down till even the the thought of being a puppet felt like salvation.

"...Are you all okay?"

"You shouldn't do that." She repeated. Peter recognized her; she was one of the first ones to try and leave. She looked barely a year past 12, "They...if we move around and make noise they come down and beat us. They stay happy if we're quiet."

"I bet..." He looked past her to the other occupants of the cell. None of them spoke, all too scared. They were tucked into their own corners and trying to shrink in on themselves. Apparently he was special enough to get his own personal cell. And straightjacket, "...I'll get you all out of here."

She tried to laugh. It sounded more like a cry, "How?! You're just a kid! All of us are! We can't get out..." She was crying in full now. He wanted to tell her - tell all of them - that it'd be alright. _But then_, the voice at the back of his head whispered_, what's waiting for them when they get out?_ A life on the streets or being put back into the abusive holes they crawled out of? Was it really that much better than this?

His cynical musings were cut off when the door leading out suddenly opened and the siren stepped inside flanked by two goons. The kids in the cell whimpered and shrunk back but she paid them no mind - all her attention was on him, "Well now, isn't this this interesting..." Her smile was wide and ugly. Peter sneered and spat blood on her immaculate dress, "So rude. Just what I'd expect from one of their little soldiers."

"I'm going to kill you."

"So brave, so dumb." She tapped a remote on her hand. His spider-sense blared just before a surge of electricity ran through him and he was forced to the floor, "I'd hoped you'd be more cooperative, but the way they brainwash their pawns is so uncouth. Still, you're the youngest 'soldier' I've seen here. You should still be in training, little boy. The Chaste were foolish to send you alone."

Her two goons dragged him out to another room. Peter grunted as he was tossed haphazardly into the nearby chair and strapped down with belts by his legs and neck, "I won't talk..." He coughed out blood (another thing he'd pay Spector back for) looked up at her defiantly. The room reeked of blood and vomit and looked straight out of one of Cindy's horror movies. Off to the side he saw well-kept, bloodsoaked tools that clearly saw a lot of use.

"All of you blind followers always think you're so brave." She nodded to the goon at her side and he smacked Peter hard on his right cheek. His coughing worsened and blood leaked down the side of his mouth, "Do you think we'll go easy on you because you're a child? Oh no. We're going to get _everything_ we need from you. The only choice you have is how easy you'll make it for yourself."

"I'm not scared of you..." Where the hell was Bakuto? An update from Moon Knight would've helped.

"Oh no, I don't need you to be scared. I just need you to understand." She nodded and the next punch went straight to his gut. Even with his powers it took everything he had not to vomit out what meager food he had, "I'm going to ask you some questions and you'll answer them. I suggest you be honest."

"..."

"The Chaste sent you here alone. Why?"

"..."

This time it was a knife cutting through his forehead. Peter grit his teeth to keep from screaming and ignored the warm blood that trickled down his face, "Resilient, aren't you?" She smirked and bent down in front of him, just mockingly out of reach, "Did you come here to rescue the children? Steal the files and hope that the rest of your 'army' could gather more recruits from us?"

He spat in her face. Just for a second her face knotted in rage before settling back into eerie calm. The siren stood back up to her full height and wiped the blood from her face, "You know this would be much easier for us both if you just cooperated. Do you think I enjoy this? Oh no. Torture's so crude, so base. I much prefer a dialogue. Blood is distasteful."

Peter was about to snarl something back when her face _changed_. Gwen stood in front of him now, mouth raised in that goofy smile of hers. It didn't belong there, "Come on now, let's not drag this out." She cupped his right cheek and he almost leaned into it on instinct. He felt something tugging at the back of his mind, whispering, urging, begging him to trust her, telling him that it'd be all okay once he gave in.

"I..."

"Just tell me what I want and this can all end." God, she even just like her too. What was Gwen doing now? Ever since he got turned into a damned kid the entire week had been an absolute pit.

"Your heart rate is erratic. Bakuto is near, do not give in." Moon Knight said neutrally.

"I hate you..." he muttered, loud enough for both Moon Knight and Not-Gwen to hear.

Her face warped into a large, ugly sneer and Peter would've given anything to just tear off the restraints then and there. It didn't look like it belonged, "I'm almost impressed." Another cut, this time at his side. He still didn't scream, "I wonder who I look like to you. A mother, maybe? Did the Chaste take you in after you lost your mommy and daddy?"

"Are you done yet?" He looked up at her and smiled widely, showing off bloodstained teeth.

"No. I have other ways."

One of the goons left while the other kept beating him. Eventually the hits stopped hurting and all he felt was a burning numbness where pain should've been. The last hit would've toppled him over if he wasn't strapped to the chair. Right now all he could do was thank small mercies that none of his friends could see this. Cindy and Mary would've understood but Lana and Gwen definitely wouldn't.

The goon came back...and he wasn't alone, "Wh-What's going on?" Hobie looked around frantically, eyes wide and panicked. Peter struggled harder against the restraints till a knife was pressed against his neck, "R-Reilly? Why-"

"You've been disobedient, Hobie." The Siren stood behind the scared kid and put his hands on his shoulders, "When we asked you earlier what our little spy here talked to you about you said that he just wasn't feeling well and he'd be alright the next day."

"I-I didn't-"

"Why did you lie to us? We were supposed to be a family, and family _doesn't lie to another._"

Hobie was shoved to the ground and she stepped on his neck hard enough to cut off oxygen. Peter growled almost tore out the when she smirked down at him, "That's more of a reaction than I've seen since we started. I guess children can't help but bond to one another." She twisted her foot, "Now, tell us what your goal is here or you'll have to say goodbye to your friend."

_"Quite a scene, isn't it? Decided to go for something classic since you guys seemed bored with fighting and puzzles. The hero saves the innocent civilian - in this case our darling volunteer Maddie. An old employee was put into my debt and he decided that the little peach would be just the perfect thing to pay it back. Poor thing has no idea what's happening."_

"Spider-Man, Bakuto is-"

_"Ooh, and Spider-Man faces his first loss! And you know what that means!"_

"Let him go..."

He couldn't hear her taunts anymore. All he could hear now was the sound of his heart ringing in his ears and an all too familiar voice, _"You failed the last one you tried to save."_ The Spider-God's voice whispered, so close he almost saw it next to him, _"You will fail this one too. Even if you break out of the restraints she can break his neck before you can stop her and you will have failed. Again."_

"...What do you want?"

She smirked and spoke, thinking he'd finally caved. He couldn't even hear her, _"Something is coming, little man, and I need you strong. Give yourself to me."_

"I already have..."

_"More. You use my gifts for yourself, not for me. When the time comes you will do so." _He couldn't see anything but its grinning face just inches from his, _"Do we have a deal?"_

"You already know my answer..."

_"Of course I do."_

Everything came back. The Siren's smug smirk, the knife against his neck and Hobie's desperate gasps of breath. She was about to say something else when Peter looked her in the eyes, "Defiant again? You know what will-"

Her face - _Gwen's_ face - suddenly slackened and she looked down at her chest. Jutting out of the pure white attire was a shadow limb in the facsimile of a spider's leg. The appendage ran across the length of the distance between them till it stopped at Peter's back. Blood began to pool out of the wound and she opened her mouth to scream when three more appendages stabbed her straight in the chest.

She was raised in the air briefly before she was tossed hard into the opposite wall with a deafening crack.

That seemed to finally jolt the goons out of their stupor. The one holding the knife to his neck almost sliced his neck clean open when one of the 'arms' stabbed him clean through his jaw. The last one called out for help and managed out a single yell when the remaining limbs pinned him to the wall and stabbed him again and again and again till the entire side was covered in blood.

"Spider-Man, what's wrong? Your patron is-"

Peter broke through the restraints just when the rest of the goons rushed in. Growling, he rushed towards them - ignoring the fact that his arms were still restrained by the straitjacket - and tackled the closest one to the ground. Two shadowy limbs stabbed the side of his neck then jolted up till his skull.

Two more rushed towards him and the remaining pair shot through their gut. The last goon stepped back - scared - and Peter jumped. He wrapped his legs around his neck and headbutted him over and over again. The goon stumbled back and managed to keep himself upright by holding onto the doorframe, "Spider-Man, you must calm yourself. Bakuto is-"

Peter leaned down and bit hard. The goon screamed and he tasted blood and something else in his mouth. The large man finally fell and Peter jumped to the floor, spitting out the contents in his mouth with a growl. There were more of them coming and he had to get the rest of the kids out of here.

"R-Reilly..."

Peter looked back and found Hobie looking at him in utter fear. It was enough to give him pause. He looked down at the puddles of blood and stared at his reflection. Covered in blood and cuts, but it paled in comparison to the blood red, shadowy mask of Anansi that flickered in and out of existence. He felt the same as he did a year ago, when the Lizard tried to tear its way out of him.

No, _he_ was in control now.

He walked slowly to where Hobie was and knelt in front of him. To his credit the kid didn't shrink back, but his eyes were on the flickering limbs that jutted out of his back, "We need to get you and everyone else out of here." There were more of them coming. He didn't have much time, "Grab one of the knives and cut my restraints." Didn't want to risk stabbing himself with these new arms of his.

"Wh...What are you...?"

"Right now I'm your way out of here. Now grab the knife."

It was shaky, but eventually Hobie cut through his restraints. Peter stumbled on the nearby wall and the limbs disappeared, "Guess those are on a timer..." He grabbed one of the dropped scalpels and took a deep, raspy breath. First he had to get the kids and then he had to kill that bastard Bakuto. Had to make sure this wasn't all just a waste of time.

"R-Reilly-"

"My name is Peter." He pushed himself off the wall used some chi to heal the deeper wounds. First thing he'd do once he got out of here was go into a coma.

He was almost to the door when he heard soft, gasping breaths. Peter looked back and sneered when he saw the Siren crawling towards the dropped tools. Trying to find something to kill them with or something to cure her wounds? Didn't matter. Peter trudged towards her and stepped on the syringe she tried to grab, "Not this time..." He kicked the syringe away and knocked her to her back.

"You're not...one of the Chaste..." Blood dribbled out of her - _Gwen's_ \- mouth and he almost looked away, "Don't...Don't leave me here..." She raised a bloodsoaked hand and cupped his right cheek. Again he felt the tug on his mind, the urge to trust her despite everything she'd done, "Help me...we can-"

The scalpel went through her neck. Her eyes widened and she gasped, her expression one of utter betrayal. Peter's expression didn't change and he stared until she choked out her last breath and Gwen's face finally disappeared, "...Let's go." He ignored Hobie's look of fear and made his way to the cells. A part of him felt guilty despite his best efforts. It wasn't Gwen, he knew that, but...

"Wh-Where are we going?"

"We're gonna save the ones they took and then we'll get you out of here. I'll come back for the rest once I'm sure you're all safe."

"Safe? Y-You mean outside? But-"

Peter turned and grabbed his shoulders firmly, "Listen to me. I know where you came from was horrible, and I know it seems like this place is your way out, but they're just using you. They'll turn you into their puppets and break you till there's nothing left. Whatever's out there is better than here. Do you understand?" Hobie nodded hesitantly, "Good. Now, we're going to get you out of here and then me and my friends are going to make sure they can't do this anymore."

"Wh-Where will we go after...?"

"I'll...I'll talk to someone else. I'll make her do something." Page had resources. She had to be able to do something, "For now just stay behind me and keep quiet."

It took some coaxing but eventually he managed to convince the kids trapped in the cell that he was there to help them. Peter sighed in frustration and looked across both hallways, strewn with the bodies of anyone who tried to stop him. Hobie hadn't said anything when he saw him fighting and he did his best to ignore how odd it was to fight at almost half his old height.

"Moon Knight, you there?"

"Yes. You are finally coherent?"

"Don't even start. You were the one who thought getting caught and tortured was a good idea." Next time he'd be the meat they dangled, "Look, I need to get these kids out of here."

"Bakuto-"

"Can wait. I'm not putting them in any more risk. Make sure there's somebody to pick them up because they're damn sure in no condition to walk."

"...Noted. We will have vehicles outside waiting for you."

"Finally."

He ran through the all too familiar hallways, taking down any thugs he caught in his way. For the sake of everyone else he did his best not to kill them. They'd been through enough and he didn't need to make it worse. None of them said a word and when Peter finally managed to lead them outside he heard them cry in relief. Just a week and the thought of being outside was enough to drive them to tears.

The two black vans stuck out. Peter led them as gently as he could and nodded to the Chaste drivers. They could handle it from there, "Wh-What about the rest?" A boy who couldn't have been older than 10 asked, "There's...one of my friends is there. We can't leave him."

"I'll handle it. Just-"

Spider-sense. Peter's tilted his head and shut the door just before the shuriken whizzed past and embedded into the metal. Screams came form inside and turned around, eyes narrowed, to look at the attacker.

"Well now, isn't this interesting?" Bakuto smiled cockily and strode forward. That wouldn't have been anything to worry about if it wasn't for the two dozen kids that flanked both sides of him. Peter slammed his fist on the door and the vans peeled out. Bakuto just kept smiling, "Wow, I'm impressed. You managed to 'save' a little over a dozen of them. And how many are left here, do you think?"

"I killed your puppeteer."

"Oh, her? Yes, that's regrettable but we can find more like her. You haven't accomplished much, Spider-Man." He laughed, "Oh yes, I know who you are now. When I heard from Lilith that you interrupted her ritual I didn't think you would turn out like this. Feeling a bit lacking, are we?"

"Get closer. I wanna make sure I hear it when I snap your neck."

"Oh no, I think I'll stay right here. But I think the rest of your friends would like to play. You see, my 'puppeteer', as you call her, was very good at her job. Each and every single one of these children are willing to die the second I say so."

"Don't listen to him. This isn't a family and you're more than just his puppets." None of them said anything, "You can all leave right now. He can't control you."

"Amusing. Kids, _go fetch_."

They charged him all at once. Their moves were clumsy and untrained so he dodged them easily. He webbed them to the ground in clusters, making sure not to hurt them. They hadn't been broken completely just yet, "Using only your webs? How merciful of you. Where was that compassion when you fought the rest of my men? Or is it okay because you didn't see what they went through."

Peter didn't respond and just webbed the last kid down. Now it was just the two of them. Bakuto opened his mouth for another scathing remark and Peter charged, right hand lashing out in a quick strike. The (much) older man side-stepped with practiced ease and grabbed the outstretched limb. Peter twisted, elbowed him in the side and scrambled back. The size difference was all too noticeable now.

"Something wrong, Spider-Man?"

Bakuto struck this time. Peter slid past the blow aimed at his neck and kicked at the back of Bakuto's legs. The suited Finger fell to one knee and Peter stabbed the scalpel to one side before grabbing his neck and twisting.

The cocky bastard reached a hand back for his face, fingers almost gouging clean through his eye before the snap echoed through the desolate lot. Peter panted and made sure to twist the head backwards before letting his body drop, "God damn it..." He wiped his mouth and began to walk away. Could probably call Moon Knight for a lift. The Chaste could handle the-

Spider-sense.

Peter looked back and watched with grim awareness as Bakuto picked himself up off the ground and twisted his head back forward, "Hmm, as good a field test as any." He pulled the scalpel off his side and the blood vanished from the wound, "I mean I had my doubts, but I guess seeing is believing, hm?"

"What the hell...?"

"I struck a little extra deal with Lilith. In exchange for a few favors owed and some portion of any future followers given to her she gave me this little gift." He cricked his neck and made an exaggerated breath, "I'd say it came in useful tonight."

"Doesn't matter how many times you get up. I'll just kill you again."

"And I'll just keep coming back. Speaking of..." The kids began to tear through the webbing and stand up again, "We can do this all night, but you? It looks like you're really flagging there. You sure you wanna keep this up."

Peter lowered himself into a fighting stance. A pair of brainwashed teens charged towards him only to get intercepted by a black and red figure, "...Mary?" he whispered. Mary stood in front of him in a crouch.

"Well now, isn't this interesting?" Bakuto sneered, "I expected Spider-Woman to come, not you."

The rest of the brainwashed teens attacked all at once. Mary charged through and incapacitated them easily then moved to Bakuto. His arms raised to block the sudden punch and the blow crushed through the meager defense. Even from where he stood he heard the impact of the fist meeting flesh. Bakuto stumbled back and Mary grabbed him by his leg before tossing him into the far wall hard enough to dent it then pinned him down under a ton of webbing.

Very _white_ webbing.

"...Huh."

She suddenly grabbed Peter and swung away, stopping only when they were back at their (closer than he thought) apartment. Peter stumbled away from her and sat on the nearby chair. Now that the adrenaline had finally worn off he realized how exhausted he was, "Are you alright?" Gwen peeled the mask back and looked down at him worriedly. Peter waved her off and ignored the taste of blood on his tongue.

"...What are you doing here?"

"Murderdock called me, said you needed help. Apparently him and ninja chick are busy with something that just came up. Didn't trust him exactly but I didn't want to risk you."

"Of course they are..." He sighed. Should've known he couldn't count on them, "Why the disguise?"

"Cindy said Spider-Woman shouldn't be seen with you. Even if you're 7 years old now." She rolled her eyes and sat next to him. She either ignored or didn't notice the stench of blood on him, "You look like hell, Peter..."

"Worse than it looks." That was the truth, at least. He felt more exhausted than anything else, "Could you...grab one of my smokes? Should be on the bottom drawer."

"I thought we agreed-"

"Don't argue with me, Gwen."

She looked like she really wanted to. Instead she pursed her lips and made to grab the packet while Peter took one of the bottles of whiskey from the low cabinet. The taste of the bitter liquid on his tongue calmed him immensely even despite Gwen's look of disapproval, "Thanks..." He lit it quickly and took a deep inhale. \

"...Feel better?"

"Immensely." He took another drag and swig, "Surprised you're so calm about this."

"Believe me I wanna drag you to the bathroom so you can get that blood off but I'm trusting you here." She huffed and set next to him again, arms crossed, "Besides, I don't wanna push too much and get a repeat of what happened with MJ."

"Mary? What's wrong with her?"

"Apparently she's been working with Murderdock and going on nightly killing sprees."

"...Perfect." He finished off the whiskey (really needed to get more) and dabbed the cigarette on a nearby ashtray, "Don't suppose you'll wanna explain that?"

"Later. Right now you really need a shower." She jerked her thumb to the bathroom, "Clean yourself up and I'll get the medkit. Really don't wanna explain to anyone why I have a bloodsoaked 7 year old here."

"Yeah..." He stopped when he got to the doorway, "...It's good to see you again, Gwen."

"You too." She smiled, and everything felt normal again.

He shut the door behind him and stood on the chair so he could see his reflection in the mirror. Gwen was right - he looked like hell. He opened the faucet and ran his bloodstained hands under the cold water, watching as the crimson liquid went down the sink. A bunch of kids saved, even more brainwashed and apparently Bakuto was unkillable now. At this point he expected Murakami to burst in here with an entire army behind him.

Peter washed his face, relishing the feeling of water against flesh, and stared blankly at the mirror. Cuts were still there, but the chi did most of the healing already. His skin was pale and clammy from blood loss, his eyes looked even more sunken than usual and...

And the mask of Anansi was draped over him.

_"Remember our deal, little man. Remember that you belong to **me**."_

* * *

**...So, I caved and put in Spider Trigger. Wasn't as epic as it would've been compared to if he got it from Arcade - especially considering Noir's current de-aged status - but now it's there for future use. I'll try to limit it as something rare so he'll still mostly rely on his current powers and new traversal abilities. It's for special occasions.**

**The ending underwent some changes. Originally Punisher was supposed to pick up Peter and they would've had a drive by gun chase with the Hand. I took it out since it left Peter abandoning the kids to save himself, which felt really out of character. I can just add it again when Peter goes back to normal so we won't have to see a 7 year old getting into an Uncharted shootout.**

**Questions:**

**1\. Are there any character you wanna see as part of MJ's supporting cast? So far every protagonist has their own group but so far MJ's allies (Matt, Felicia and Norah) are people she shares with the other four. Might be good to give her her own specific allies.**

**2\. Right now I'm kinda torn on the next chapter either being a Noir and Gwen or a Noir and Cindy teamup. The former will have them do an investigation out of the public eye (they're still 'broken up') to find info on Roxxon while the latter has the two investigating Scorpion's ties to the Maggia and Hand. Which sounds more appealing? **

**Review Answers:**

**Paul Garros - Hmm, any thoughts on the story and characters so far? As for Frog-Man...awkward I get, but creepy?**


	33. Bang, bang, bang, pull my Spider Trigger

**Here's an early New Years gift :D We're back to focusing on Gwen for this chapter and the next. Then maybe I can cycle back to Cindy since she's been seriously lacking in screentime lately. **

**Anyway, I thought about MJ's characters and came up with a tentative list:**

**\- Matt Murdock  
\- Felicia Hardy  
\- Shadowcat or Logan. Leaning towards the former.  
\- Frog-Man (for some much needed comic relief)  
**

**This does mean she doesn't have much unique characters of her own but this helps prevent bloating. Unlike the others groups she's also more focused on one on one interactions with the characters rather than working as a team like the Defenders or Avengers. They're more there for her to bounce off of and have varied interactions.**

**Also, I'm considering writing more pure film noir chapters again in the future with either Noir (duh) or Cindy as the POV character. Seeing Bioshock Burial at Sea again really re-ignited my film noir flair.**

* * *

**WhiteknightandProud: **So between** Spider-Man** and the **Defenders** and **Spider-Woman** and the **Defenders**, who had the more epic fight last year?

**Reply from singing-bombshell: **Spider-Woman defo. She was fighting **Ms. Negative** off the side of a building! That shit was epic!

**Reply from HealingIvy: **Really? I think Spider-Man takes this easily. He and a bunch of ninjas were fighting a freaking DEMON and a bunch of other ninjas in the middle of Times Square. Awesome is a massive understatement.

**Reply from EpicNPCMan: **Off topic but why does everyone say 'Spider-Woman and the Avengers' fought Ms. Negative? Half the Avengers were MIA!

**Reply from WhiteWidow: **Yeah at least in Spider-Man's case it was only **Bullseye **missing. Spider-Woman's group didn't have **Captain America**, **Wasp**, **Hawkeye**or** She-Hulk**.

**Reply from singing-bombshell: **Sounds better than 'Spider-Woman and those randos she was with'. One of them was a freaking 10 year old with claws!

**Reply from EpicNPCMan: **Speaking of villains, who are Spider-Man and Spider-Woman's arch-enemies? I don't think I've seen one.

**Reply from HealingIvy: **Doesn't Ms. Negative count for Spider-Woman?

**Reply from EpicNPCMan: **Nah, she always seemed more **Spinerette's** arch-enemy. They're literally the same person from alternate dimensions! That rivalry just writes itself.

**Reply from BodegaBandit: **Obviously I'm her arch-enemy.

**Reply from WhiteWidow: **Get out of here bandit. You're The Worst.

**Reply from WhiteknightandProud: **Then I guess Spider-Man's is that demon he was fighting. Don't think he has one now.

**Reply from CHOCOLLLAATTTEE: **For Spider-Man it's definitely **Jack-o-Lantern. **He was the one who exposed his identity and tore the city apart. Hell his gangs stirring shit up again so Im guessing he's gonna smack them down when they get too big.

**Reply from SpiderWomanMadeMeDoThis: **Could you all stop acting like our lives are comic books? Jack is a psychopath and the only thing I regret is I didn't kill him a year ago. Stop trying to read things and pretend this was some battle for the ages. Same goes for Cindy's reflection. People died and we made them pay for it. Grow up.

**Reply from WhiteKnightandProud: **...That was rude.

* * *

Gwen, as was far too common nowadays, woke up alone.

The blond sat up with a yawn and dropped her legs over the side of the bed lazily. Ever since her disastrous talk with MJ almost a week ago she'd been by herself in the apartment. Even Peter didn't stay - as soon as she told him about Lana being attacked by that asshole Bullseye he left before she could even suggest getting at least a power nap to get some of those cuts healed he was out the door and out of sight.

Rubbing her eyes tiredly, she trudged outside and opened the door to MJ's room. Empty, as expected, "Damn it, MJ..." She shut the door slowly and pressed her forehead against the wood. She knew where she was; she always went to Norah's place whenever she had an argument with someone. Problem was she had no idea where Norah's new place was. Peter knew, but she didn't get a chance to ask.

And even then what would be the point? Would she go there and force MJ back against her will? Yeah, that'd go over really well, "...Hey Webs?"

**"Yes?"** Gwen smiled. At least with her she wasn't _really_ alone.

"You ever feel like the world's just taking a dump on your cereal?"

**'Yes. Every time you deny my very reasonable requests for chocolate.'**

"You wanted me to buy stocks on Herschels and even begged me to buy a factory! You are far from reasonable!" They really needed to give her an intervention. Gabby (current name pending for Chocolate) so far hadn't done anything similar. Heck, she was even coaxing Laura to eat her veggies! She couldn't have been more proud, "Maybe we should put you on a diet..."

**'Try it and you shall suffer the dire consequences of your foolish actions.'**

"...Probably need to cut back on your Webflicks too." Sighing with a smile, she made her way to the dining room and laughed under her breath when she saw the fully prepared breakfast covered in plastic wrap with a note on top, "Hey, got back early and saw you were sleeping. I'm gonna go out for a bit but I cooked something up. Make sure to eat it all. There's a treat for the kid on the fridge," she read aloud.

**'...Seriously, Gwen, please marry him. He is the best thing to happen in your life besides me.'**

"Yeah, I don't wanna give my dad a heart attack, thanks." She rolled her eyes and sat down while Webster grabbed the chocolate confection from the fridge. It wasn't that she didn't think about marriage or anything. She and Peter talked about a year ago after her dad and Jess got hitched and...well, honestly the thought kinda weirded her out. She loved Peter and everything but the thought of moving into a house, picket fence and kids and all, was just...off. The kind of lives they led weren't exactly built for it.

That and there was Webster to consider. Right now she had a mental image of her wearing a ring around her small head and making vows alongside them and she didn't know whether to laugh or cringe.

**"You're aware I can feel your thoughts, Gwen. And for the record I think I'd look good with a ring."**

"Sure, sure..." She took a bite of the eggs (delish as always) and hummed, "Hey...could I ask you a kinda awkward question?"

**"I've seen you naked before, so I doubt you can surprise me."**

"We really need to tone down your snark scale." She huffed, "But being serious for a bit. Gabby's really got me thinking about kids..."

**"If you're wondering if we will give birth to any new symbiotes then I don't know. Wasp said-"**

"That's not what I mean!" She took a deep breath and tried to find the right words, "I just...I know this is weird to think about now, but...say, hypothetically, that I ever decide to have kids with someone-

_**"You mean Peter."**_

"-then how would the kid be...you know." She gestured awkwardly, "Like my blood's radioactive, our partnership's about as tight as actual marriage and we might or might not give birth to more Gabbies. Assuming I ever get something cooking in the oven how's it going to...uh..."

**"I don't know, Gwen." **Webster nudged the plate of chocolate away (that was serious) and nuzzled her cheek. She did that a lot, **"I was the first of my kind and even Chocolate's birth came as a shock to me. If you were ever to have a child with Peter then I am unsure of what will happen. Perhaps nothing, or perhaps they will also be Gifted like you have become. We cannot know for certain until it comes to pass."**

"Not really building my confidence here, Webs." She sighed and finished off the rest of her meal in silence. Why was she even worrying about this? It'd be years before she could even think about that kind of thing. Same way with Wasp telling her she was (maybe) immortal. Right now she just didn't wanna think about the idea that she might outlive everyone she ever loved till only she and a few other 'lucky' ones were left.

So yeah, fun thoughts.

Her musings were cut off when she got a call, "Hey Jess. What's up?"

"Could use your help with something."

"New case?" She picked up the plate and began washing it. She felt guilty enough having her de-aged boyfriend cooking for her, she had to at least do some of the other chores

"Yeah. It's about this new gang of Pumpkin assholes running around. You heard about em?"

Her hands paused on the rim of the plate and she lowered it down to the sink. Even a full year later hearing a reminder of him (and Murderdock...and Moon...and Skrulls) pissed her off to no end, "Uh...yeah. Ran into them once." When Peter snuck out with Norah. No, she wasn't bitter about that. It was kinda her fault for grounding him (even if she totally had a good reason), "What about em?"

"Got a new client who thinks her kid ran off to join the gang. Wants me to find him and make sure he doesn't get caught up in another fucked up cult." Another one? She had a bad feeling already, "Anyway I figured you might be a better fit for this since I try to stay away from the whole Costume thing."

"I'll help if I can, but Peter was really the one that dealt with them. Norah too now that I think about it."

"Well blondie's not answering her phone and your boyfriend's a midget. Even more one than usual, I mean." Gwen snorted, "But if you think he can help then go for it. Pay's big enough that I can split it three ways."

"Just take my share and give it to Helena's college fund. I'll call Peter and see if he's down for a teamup. Pretty sure he can still help out even if he's like this now."

"Right. Oh, and there's another reason I called you." Webster grabbed her own plate and began washing it, "I've been doing some investigation on that Roxxon guy you're 'dating' and I got some rumors that he might be funding these assholes. Might just be bullshit but it's worth checking out."

"Right...good to know." Her dad wasn't happy when she told them about her plan. As much as he and Peter butted heads sometimes at least dad trusted him not to hurt her and knew she loved him. Roxxon was another story.

She called Peter's cell and he picked up on the second ring, "Hey. Something wrong?"

"Why do you always ask that whenever I call?"

"Cause nine out of ten times it's true." He grunted, "So what's the situation?"

"Jess has a new case. The...Lantern gang." Ugh, even their names sounded dumb. And she knew dumb; she 'fought' the Bodega Banditos! "Figured you might want in." And she much preferred the idea of him investigating while she could back him up over going solo again.

"Damn it, they're like cockroaches..." He sighed, "Alright, gimme the address and I'll head over."

Gwen forwarded Jess' text then jumped out the window. A part of her wondered if she might run into MJ swinging around on the way before she quashed it down. Apart from a few blurry pictures and some witness reports - half of which she was sure were fake - MJ'd been a complete ghost for the past few days. Even going to her workplace didn't help - she was always conveniently 'out on an errand' every time she got there. Gwen was pretty sure her boss was covering for her.

Jess and Peter were already on a nearby construction site when she arrived. Jess took pictures of the building from atop high beam with her beat up old camera while Peter talked with someone on the phone, "Hey-o!" She clung to a nearby beam and pouted slightly when neither even bothered to look at her, "Sure, just ignore me. That's not offensive or anything."

"Should probably change out of that outfit. We don't want anyone to know Spider-Woman's helping us," Jess said, eyes still glued to the office building. Odd, she was expecting another warehouse.

"Don't wanna be seen with me, Jess? Am I that uncool?" She hopped over to the beam next to her and crouched down.

"People already find it suspicious that Kate's my old intern-"

"I think she prefers the term protege detective."

"_Whatever_ she calls it. Your dad was one of Spider-Woman's first supporters in the cops, Kate's one of your Avengers buddies and Parker over there is Spider-Woman's ex boyfriend. If people see Spider-Woman helping me out there's gonna be a lot of odd looks at Gwen Stacy soon enough. At some point someone's gonna catch on that one of your friends, your stepmom and your dad just so happen to be close to one of the Avengers and wonder where you fall under."

"No one's figured it out so far."

"...You don't look online much, do you?"

"Kinda busy with college and patrols to go giigling myself, Jess." And for some reason she always got directed to porn whenever she did. She blamed Betty.

"You _do_ know that some people think you're Spider-Woman? Have been ever since Parker got outed." From below them Peter grunted but said nothing, "No one really takes it seriously since everyone thinks you're some heiress like Kate is, but you really don't wanna push it. Last thing we need is you getting your face plastered on those damn ads."

"Still can't believe you let em use you for those damn energy drinks."

"Money goes to charity, Peter. Being a 'sellout' and getting snide comments from hipsters is worth it."

"Whatever you say." He shot a line of white webbing and pulled himself up on Jess' other side. He was dressed differently now. A black jacket with the hood over his head and a mask that looked like something Moon Knight wore, "Any intel for us, Jones?"

"Not much. One of the old Lantern crew who wussed out told me they hold some meetings here. Apparently its where they do the introductions and give em everything. Jackets, those masks..." She snapped another picture, "But if the info's right then they're getting a little something extra today." She showed them the screen and Gwen flinched at the crate of guns on display, "Snagged this from a warehouse down in fifth street. They're getting armed."

"Just what we need: a psycho cult with guns." Gwen huffed.

"Least they don't have Mason's tech this time," Peter muttered, "Hmm, I'll go ahead alone. See if I can find a entrance."

"No way. We're doing this together," Gwen said.

"Relax, I'm not planning to sneak in myself. I'll just see about finding us somewhere to go in besides the front door. I'll be back."

Before she could say anything else he let himself drop and disappeared into smoke mid-fall, "Dunno how you deal with that. That'd piss me off," Jess said. Gwen shrugged and shifted into another outfit. A dark jacket just like Peter's, yoga pants, sneakers, gloves and an old luchador mask. Same outfit she wore on her would-be debut during She-Hulk's charity event.

She even avoided putting a hood on it now, which felt like a betrayal of some kind.

The wait was quiet, broken only by Jessica occasionally taking another picture or writing down something on her notepad. Gwen hugged her right leg close while the other dangled free past the beam. If she had her way she would've kicked down the front door and webbed down every single crazy wearing a pumpkin mask. She didn't care what your reason was - trying to associate with that psycho mass murderer couldn't be justified no matter how hard you tried to pull the bad parents excuse.

Jessica snapped another pic then put her camera down, "You alright?" she asked, finally turning to look at her.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Cause you look like you've got a stick up your ass."

Gwen snorted. That was Jess for you, "I'm fine. I'm just..." She brought a hand through the top of her head and sighed, "Just dealing with some shit right now."

"Wanna talk about it? I'm not really your mom or anything but we're...uh, shit I'm not good at this kind of thing." She sighed in turn and leaned back on the beam, "Look, I promised George I'd help look out for you."

"I can take care of myself."

"Don't doubt it. Doesn't mean he's not gonna worry."

"That's dad for you." Gwen smiled wryly, "It's just...you know the thing me and MJ were dealing with? It just got worse." Jess waited patiently for her to continue, "She just told me she went around at night playing the killer vigilante with_ Matt freaking Murdock_, of all people. And when I tried to talk to her about it she just..." She bit her lower lip, "She told me she didn't regret it at all. That the people she killed...she killed them and she's going to keep killing people."

"Shit..." Jessica oh so eloquently said.

"Yeah." She grit her teeth, "I don't know what I'm supposed to do here, Jess. I'm not going to arrest her, and MJ knows that, but do I just let her keep doing this? And if I stop her does that mean I have to stop Peter too? He kills people- hell, he's killed more than MJ! If I turn up the news right now I'd probably hear a report about a bunch of dead ninjas or see one of his 'friends' up to something I _really_ should go after them for."

"Let's turn this around a bit: what do you want to do? And I'm not asking what Spider-Woman _should_ do. I wanna know what Gwen Stacy _wants_ to do."

"That's...complicated." She chewed her lip thoughtfully, "I _want_ MJ safe and that little monster dead along with Kasady, but that's not gonna happen. I tried to...wean her off killing people. Didn't work." How long after their patrols did she wait before killing people? "And honestly? I don't even know how I really feel about this. I hate the fact that she's killing people, but I dunno if that's because of the killing itself or because I'm scared the more she does it the more that thing will turn her."

"That the reason you're not stressing so much about Parker?"

"Peter's another can of spiders." She waved a hand through the air, "He promised me he's gonna try not to do it as much, but I don't know if it's because of the Hand or Murderdock and his 'team' but it feels like he's slipping back into old habits. And that's when he isn't going undercover in cult recruitment centers."

"I thought you'd be more worried about the fountain of youth bullshit he's got going on."

"I thought I so too, but it's about on par with the rest of the BS we deal with. Besides, reminds me of when we were kids..." Except now her childhood friend was sneaking around a compound full of psychopaths. 7 year old her's head would've exploded if she knew even a fraction of the shit she'd be going through, "Hopefully Teresa gets here soon. She's the only one who can help him and Lana."

"God, this family tree's fucked..."

"Speaking of, how are dad and 'Lena? I've been kinda busy these past few days and haven't had time to check in."

"They're fine. George is with Kate back home looking after Helli and..." She paused and briefly mussed a hand through her hair, "Just dealing with some shit. Dunno if you know this but your neighborhood has some real assholes in it. This bitch in the HOA's been on my ass since last month when she saw me lifting George's car to get something under it. Guess she doesn't like a freak living in the same street."

"You know we could probably sue for discrimination." She-Hulk's new firm specialized in it.

"What, and turn this whole thing into a circus? Fuck that. I'll just-"

"Hey." The two of them jumped as Peter de-cloaked next to them, "Got the photos."

"Jesus, would you stop doing that!" Jessica snarled.

"No." He slipped past Gwen and she scooted so he could sit between them, "Found a few places we could get in through." He shifted to the first picture, "Front gate's pretty heavily guarded inside but with the three of us it shouldn't be that much of an issue."

"Really don't wanna do that. They've got hostages in there if my client's right," Jessica said.

"Last resort then. Speaking of hostages." Next picture, this time of a window with tied up figures inside, "Guessing that's them. Didn't see any guards inside the room, but we should still be careful."

"Hmm...don't see the guy I'm looking for. Then again he might be one of the ones wearing a mask..."

"We'll save everyone then cherry pick later," Gwen said, "What's next?"

"There's more than one entrance so can probably split up."

"Famous last words there, Pete. What next, it's too quiet and you're three weeks from retirement?"

"Very funny." He rolled his eyes (though she didn't miss the slight smile) and went to the next picture, "Found two places we can sneak through. First one leads to the basement. Lightly guarded - just a couple of yahoos, ain't even armed." Next picture, "This one's a vent that should allow us to get around without drawing attention. Something tells me Jones doesn't wanna crawl around."

"Got that right." She scoffed, "I'll take the backdoor while you two go around the vents. Keep your phones on and in headphones to make sure we can hear each other."

Soon enough she and Peter were at the side looking up at the slightly ajar vent, "I'll go first." He nodded and she hopped up the wall. She (quietly) pulled the vent loose and crawled inside, Peter coming in right after, "This seems familiar." She swatted at a cobweb in her way and coughed at the dust that wafted up to her face. Would it kill people to keep their vents clean? A little consideration went a long way.

"A year ago it was Hammerhead's goons and now it's Jack's cult. What the hell's with this city and following madmen?"

"We actually did a paper on that last term. Something about Type A personalities drawing those who seek leadership and purpose." She turned the corner and grimaced when her hand landed on something sticky.

**'You don't wanna know what this is, Gwen...'**

_'Thanks for that, Webs.'_ She shuddered and looked back to Peter. His mask was on now, blocking his face from view, "...How's Lana?" she asked quietly.

"Still unconscious." He grunted and wiped some dust off his mask, "Had to sneak into the hospital last night, couldn't exactly explain why a 7 year old was visiting an Initiative Hero."

"Are you okay?"

"Not really. I feel like I should've been here instead of playing spy." She reached back and tapped his hand, "You don't need to worry about me. Lana's alive, that means she'll be okay. Right now all I can do is make sure she won't be hurt again."

"And how do you plan to do that?"

"I'm going to kill every single one of the Hand starting with Bullseye."

She didn't get a chance to comment before he stopped and looked through one of the slim grates to his left. Peter put a finger in front of his lips and gestured for her to stop just as two pairs of boots stopped right in front of the grate, "Man, why the fuck are we even here?" The voice was distorted by the mask but it was still obviously female, "We've got guns and we've got guys! We should be tearing shit up!"

"You heard what that old bitch said. You wanna get her triad guys on you? Go ahead," another, this time a guy, replied.

"Why we even working for her? We should be trying to bust out bossman Jack!"

"We try to break into the Raft now we're gonna get our asses shrunk, dumbass! Think! Ain't gonna do anyone any good if we're ant sized!"

They devolved into a curse-filled argument. Peter tapped her leg and silently urged her to move. It was only when they were a far enough distance that he spoke again, "Should've known she'd be involved."

"Who?"

"Gao. Aren't that many old ladies with Triad connections who can funnel this many guns into the city." They got into a fork in the vents. He pointed left, "Might explain the bounty from Roxxon too. Didn't give that guy much of a reason to spend so much long green on my head and I know for a fact the Hand have their hands in Roxxon oil. If Gao got into his head then I can see him forking over the dough."

"I doubt it." Jessica's voice chimed in, "What I heard from Gwen this Roxxon guy's obsessed with her. Bet that's enough for him to spend money to make sure you're not in the way."

"Uh...you sure about that?" Gwen asked, "I mean I get this guy has a crush on Spider-Woman but..." But was it worth 30 million dollars? And even if it was she didn't like the idea that Peter was in danger because of her.

"You honestly asking that? I've had clients who've done stupider- hold on a second." There was a brief pause then the sound of someone getting hit, "Sorry about that. Like I was saying I've seen dumber shit. A couple weeks ago there was a woman who left her 10 year marriage cause, and I quote, 'I felt a connection between myself and Spider-Woman when she saved me from that burning building'. Apparently you two shared a _really_ intense hug."

"She's gonna have to be more specific. I save a lot of people from burning buildings." Which said a lot about New York infrastructure. At least it was good exercise on getting Webster used to fire.

"There's also that guy trying to sue you cause you swung over his general direction and he was so busy trying to snap pictures he tailgated the guy in front of him. No idea how that's going."

"I think She-Hulk mentioned it..."

"Point is people do stupid, petty shit all the time and you don't need some old bitch from a secret society of ninjas to make you."

"Whatever the case she's definitely part of the funding these clowns have," Peter said, "Your client care much about the state her kid is in?"

"She doesn't want him dead, if that's what you're thinking."

"How about breathing through a tube?"

"No."

"You love to make things hard, don't you?"

"Could we not casually discuss putting people in the hospital?" Gwen looked back with slight annoyance, "We can just knock them out and leave them for the cops." Though she'd have to get creative considering she couldn't use her webs. Stupid disguise.

Eventually they ended up right above the hostage room. Gwen counted ten people handcuffed on the ground and, just as Peter said, no guards in sight, "Two people outside the door." He pointed to the bright red doorway, "You take left and I take right?"

"You know it."

She pulled the grate back and they both dropped inside. The gagged hostages tried to scream through the cloth and Peter shook his head, "We're friends. Stay calm and we'll get you all out." He took up position on the right side and she stood opposite him in a slight crouch.

She banged hard on the door and mimicked a muffled scream, "Of for fuck's..." The lock clicked open loudly and the door swung open, "Hey, you assholes better-"

Gwen grabbed the guy by the scruff of his neck, pinned him to the wall and knocked him out with one punch to the face. Across from her Peter jumped on the pumpkin goon's back then smashed his head against the unforgiving brick three times. The mask shattered on the third hit and she frowned at how young the face underneath was. Guy looked 19, if that, and after this he'd be in jail for the next decade at least.

She didn't feel too sorry, though. He made his choice.

Peter slammed him down to the ground and searched through his pockets for the key, "Jess, how you doing?" Gwen asked.

"Found something down here. Not gonna like it." Great, she was playing the pronoun game. Never a good sign.

"Any worse than the hostages?" Peter began unlocking the cuffs while she just ripped through the chains. Hey, no one said she had to be neat, "Cause I gotta tell you I think we got ya beat on the fucked up front."

"See for yourself."

Two pictures sent. Gwen looked down at the screen and frowned at the first image that popped up. A crate full of guns and explosives, "Cheap guns," Peter said, "AK-47's, pipe bombs, molotovs...looks like Gao can't afford too much. Or she doesn't think these clowns are worth the investment." He unlocked the last cuff and pulled the woman up to her feet.

Gwen lowered the gag and raised both hands to calm her, "Shh, its okay! We're here to-"

"Y-You need to run!" She whispered in a panic, "Th-They've been injecting people with something and they're-"

"Shit." Peter raised his phone to show her the next image and her blood ran cold when she saw the all too familiar syringe on the screen. Her spider-sense tingled weakly just before something swiped at her back. Gwen pushed the woman away and hissed when claws cut through her back before the wound quickly healed.

Two Lizards were behind them. The hostages backed themselves into a corner while Gwen and Peter stood in front of them protectively. It was the two Lanterns, though they hadn't fully changed just yet. Their arms were scaly and swollen and their faces were equally monstrous but she still saw the human features underneath, "Are you fucking kidding me?! More of these guys?!" Gwen hissed.

"What's wrong?" Jess asked, "Are they- shit, I think I see what you mean. Call you back in a bit."

"Jess! Are you-"

"Focus on ourselves first, partner." Peter took the one on the right while she took the other. Gwen grabbed the claw mid-swipe and blocked the other that tried to go for her side before headbutting the Lantern on his forming snout. Next to her Peter slipped between the would-be Lizards legs and pinned his feet to the ground with two nets of webbing.

_'Webs, can you heal them?' _Peter clambered up the guy's back and started wailing on his head.

**_'I can try. Hold them down.' _**Gwen flipped over the snarling lantern, grabbed waist and slammed him down in a painful suplex - She-Hulk's lessons were really paying off. Peter looked at her briefly then jumped off the Lizard's back as it fell to the ground, paralyzed.

Gwen straddled the struggling Lizard and smashed his head to the ground with her right palm. Black tendrils snaked from her fingers and covered his jaw, **'Hmm...it appears similar to the serum from a year ago but it is imperfect. Diluted.'**

_'We can play scientist later! Can you get rid of it?'_

**'Yes. Keep him holding him down.'**

Gwen kept the struggling reptile pinned and let Webster get to work. The symbiotic mass spread from his jaw to the rest of his body till it was covered in a dark blanket. The Lizard struggled, trying to tear and bite through the sheet, but eventually its movements slowed and Gwen felt an all too familiar rage bubbling in her, _'Webster...?'_

**'Don't worry. You won't let us go out of control again.'**

She nodded and took deep, calming breaths till the feeling passed. Gwen stepped off the healed Lantern and looked to the one Peter left paralyzed, "...Can you get the people out of here? I'll deal with this one." He nodded and she got to work. From behind her Peter opened the window and created a net close to the ground along with a length of rope from her loaned webshooter.

Eventually both were healed and the hostages were safely far away. Gwen called Jess back, "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, but these assholes wrecked my jacket." Jess sighed, loud and slow, "We gotta get the cops in here. This is bigger than some dumbass teenagers trying to join a gang."

"You call them. Me and Peter'll deal with the rest of the Lizards."

* * *

**ISpeaktoALIENS: **So if Spinerette's from another dimension doesn't that make her an illegal immigrant?

**Reply from Nearlaugh: **This man right here asking the real questions.

**Reply from ISpeaktoAliens: **Seriously tho. If she's from another dimension then doesn't that mean she has no ID here? Is she a citizen or what? Could she vote or buy drinks?

**Reply from Spinerette: **I gotta admit this wasn't what I expected when I checked my feed.

**Reply from ISpeaktoAliens: **Just making sure our heroes have proper documentation.

**Reply from Spinerette: **Might as well ask how the Asgardians are categorized considering they're from space.

**Reply from SoDONEwiththis: **He did. He's been spamming threads Asgiardians frequent and trying to get answers.

**Reply from Spinerette: **Then I guess he'll be happy to know I have proper documentation, ID and all.

**Reply from ISpeaktoAliens: **Wait how? The you from this dimension is in prison!

**Reply from Spinerette: **Sorry, that's classified.

**Reply from ISpeaktoAliens: **Hey! We deserve to know!

**Reply from ISpeaktoAliens: **?

**Reply from ISpeaktoAliens: **Hey!

**Reply from SoDONEwiththis:** Think she's gone dude. Better luck stalking next time.

* * *

15 minutes and a building full of incapacitated Lanterns later and the police finally arrived. Gwen sat down at the edge of the rooftop next to Peter and watched Jess talk to Cindy and the rest of the cops. She'd volunteered to stay behind and explain to the cops, leaving the two of them as her silent partners. Gwen preferred it this way - she really didn't want to explain why her 'ex'-boyfriend was a 7 year old now.

Cindy turned to look at them when the other officers weren't looking and gave them a wave and a wink. They both returned the gesture before swinging away out of sight. All was quiet between the pair till they both landed on a far off alley, "Damn it..." Peter pulled off his mask and punched the wall, a scowl on his face.

"What's wrong?" She shifted back into some casuals.

"What's wrong? How about the fact that the damn serum is still going around despite everything you did last year?" He breathed out slowly in a growl, "Feels like no matter what we do the mistakes that kid - that I - made keep coming back. I'm guessing Roxxon's the one making this new juice, but it's still that old base he's using."

"Peter..." She reached a hand out to touch him when he suddenly turned towards her and she froze. It was just for a split second, but she definitely saw a blood red, see-through mask covering his face and what looked like 4 tendrils draped over him.

And just as quick as they appeared they were gone.

"Peter." He didn't look at her, "Peter, what was that?"

"A deal I made." He sat with his back against the wall and looked down at the ground, "My...boss gave me an offer so I could save someone. Told me I belonged to him even more than I already did. This is what I got."

"So what does it mean?"

"I have no idea. He said that...something's coming and he needs me strong for it. Could come tomorrow, could come in a 100 years. He wasn't too keen on the details." He shook his head, "It's fine. Ain't any worse than me disappearing into smoke. Far as I can tell the Spider-God wants me alive."

"If you say so..." Why did they always have to deal with magical BS? She almost missed the days when she worried if the spider bite gave her or anyone she slept with cancer.

"Trust me, Gwen. A lot of things in this city want me dead but it ain't one of em." He pulled himself up, "Come on, I gotta go meet Page and talk about something. You can come if you want."

She did, of course. The library he took her to felt...off. No people around and it looked way too ornate - expensive - for how it looked on the outside. She followed behind him warily and her mouth lowered to a frown when she saw Murdock and Page sitting across one another on a small table having tea, of all things.

"Good afternoon, Peter. I trust you're here to discuss your new wards?" Page gave them an unreadable smile and took a dainty sip of her tea. Gwen suddenly felt nervous. According to Moon Knight she was possessed by some kind of angel. After what she saw in that club that wasn't much of a relief.

"Yeah..." His eyes flicked to Murdock, "Thanks for the help, by the way. Knew I could count on you."

"Your sarcasm is palpable enough even for a blind man to see it." Murdock hummed, "Apologies, Peter, but me and Echo were preoccupied by your old friend Murakami. Apparently he became impatient at your lack of action and sought you out."

"Of course he did. Did you at least kill him?"

"No, thought I'd leave that for you."

"Meaning you weren't good enough and have nothing to show for it. Go to hell."

Page laughed under her breath and walked away with Peter in tow. Gwen stood in complete silence for minutes and glared at the room's only other occupant, "I can feel the heat from your gaze, Ms. Stacy. Would some tea calm you down?" He gestured to the still steaming cup, "Ruth makes the most delectable blends."

"No thanks." It took all she had not to say something ruder, "...What's MJ been doing the past few days?"

"How would I kn-"

"Don't lie to me." She mashed her hand on the table and broke it in half. Cups, utensils and piping hot tea spilled onto the ground.

"...That was rather rude."

"For some reason MJ trusts you. So I'll ask again..." She grabbed him by the scruff of his nick and pulled him up into a rough stand, "Tell me what she's been doing."

"Believe it or not, Ms. Stacy, but I don't know. She hasn't contacted me since that altercation 5 days prior." She narrowed her eyes and tightened her grip, nearly ripping off the fabric of his expensive suit, "If you wish to pop my head like a grape then feel free. I can't give you answers that I don't have."

Her free hand balled into a fist and she grit her teeth till, eventually, she let him, "...You're sure she hasn't contacted you?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Believe it or not we aren't exactly friends. If she's continued her crusade then she has done so without my help." He rubbed his neck, "And even if she had I wouldn't have been able to accommodate her. I and the rest of our little ragtag group have spent the past few days in conflict with the Hand. It's why I sent you to rescue Peter in my stead."

"Yeah, well...that guy didn't seem so tough." She crossed her arms.

"We can't all be demigods, Gwen." She grimaced when he said her name. Even hearing him act so familiar made her skin crawl, "Still, I doubt even you could permanently kill Bakuto as he is now. That is if you're even willing to take a life again. Was Kasady the last one you took?"

"You fucking-"

"Don't listen to him. He's just baiting you." She looked back and found Peter walking back with Page behind him.

"Are you done here?" Gwen asked.

"With me, yes. Peter here has convinced me to give just a bit more to his personal charities." Again with that unreadable smile, "I suppose now he and Matthew would like to converse about their plans for the Hand. You can stay here with me, Gwnedolyne. Perhaps help me in cleaning up the mess you created."

She bit her tongue and began to pick up the scattered ceramic while Peter and Murderdock left. Page knelt next to her, "You don't have to-"

"Please. I should've known leaving you alone with Matthew would lead to this." She sighed softly and picked up the shattered teacup, "I was quite fond of this one..."

"I could pay for that..." Gwen said awkwardly.

"Money is no object to me. Don't about it." She deposited the fine china to the side, "That being said I would like to talk with you. Think of it as repayment for my tea and table."

"Uh...sure."

"How goes your investigation into the esteemed Donald Roxxon?"

"You...You know about that?" Of course she did. She seemed to know everything. Probably knew where her missing left socks were.

"I was present when you had your...'date' with him." Gwen stopped cleaning, "Don't worry, it was merely a coincidence."

"Somehow I don't believe that..."

"Believe what you wish then." She gestured to the nearby table cloth and they dumped the mess inside, "I'm surprised you could stomach the man."

"No offense, but that doesn't mean a lot considering what you're doing with Murderdock."

"Matt has his sins, but he is capable of virtue. The same cannot be said for the one you forced yourself to smile for." She stood and Gwen awkwardly joined her. A part her of just wanted to turn and walk away right now, "Similar to Peter in some ways."

"Don't even try to compare the two. Last I checked Peter didn't run a citywide criminal empire for the past decade."

"My apologies then, it was a poor comparison." She smiled again.

"...You know about what Roxxon's doing, don't you?"

"I have an inkling, yes."

"Then why aren't you doing anything? Dozens of people at least are being taken and experimented on."

"To what end? Say I stop him, would I continue to stop every perceived person who has committed sin till there's only the virtuous left? Let me as you a question, Gwendolyne. If you ran into conflict would you come crying to your father to solve your problems for you?"

"That's different-"

"Is it? When a child leaves their home it cannot expect to run back to their parents at any little sign of adversity. Roxxon is human and it's up to humans to stop his sins. You cannot simply turn to those whose garden you left for aid whenever another exercises their free will; as evil and morally deprived as it may be. Freedom comes with many prizes, but it also has its costs."

"So you're no help. Great..."

"If you find evidence against him then I will certainly prosecute him to the best of my abilities, but I cannot place him in jail based on a gut feeling and circumstantial evidence. By that logic Jameson would be well within his rights to keep you confined as the 'menace' you are."

"Is comparing things all you can do?" Yes, she was well aware that she was talking smack to someone who cowed _Murdock_, of all people. She didn't care.

"It's an easy form of conversation." She shrugged, "Speaking of, I heard your talk with Mr. Roxxon out in that balcony. Seemed heavy handed, but I suppose a bit of honesty makes it seem more genuine."

"Honesty? What are you talking about?"

"Your frustrations in dealing with the ungratefulness in this city, your desire to go back to the days before heroism became your priority and your desire for more power. Many facets that all contained a hint of truth."

"I don't...I don't want more power." She couldn't deny the other two, but the last one? Definitely not. She wasn't like Roxxon.

"Everyone desires power. To deny it is to deny human nature."

"What do you know? You aren't human, remember?"

And then she laughed. It was loud and unrestrained and it creeped Gwen out more than anything else she'd done today, "A good point, but I've seen enough of them to make an accurate gauge. Tell me, wouldn't you prefer it if criminals didn't fight? That the second they saw you they simply surrendered and saved you and them the headache of a fight?"

"I...guess?"

"And how do you think that could be? Respect, intimidation, fear...there are many ways, but power's the easiest. Why fight back against something that you have no hope, not even the smallest chance, of overpowering? Policemen use guns, you use your abilities. And yet criminals still fight you, holding on to the vain hope that perhaps they can score a lucky win."

"So because I don't want to hurt people if I don't have to that means I'm a power hungry asshole? Great logic there."

"Desiring power and being an 'asshole', to use your words, aren't tied hand in hand. Many desire power for the sake of helping others. Karen desired the power to save Matthew and help this city. If you could gain enough power to make it so that criminals no longer considered fighting you, to make it that much easier for you to save the innocent, would you not take it?"

"..." Gwen crossed her arms and looked away.

"The same comes from your desire to control your friend. Because you believe know better."

"What the- I don't want to _control_ them!"

"And yet you spent the past year trying to control Peter's morality and now you're attempting the same with Mary Jane. If you had your way they wouldn't make their own choices and would simply follow what you say."

Gwen punched her. The inhuman D.A took the hit to the jaw without a word and showed no signs that it even hurt, "...Forgive me, I was being presumptuous." Page rubbed her jaw tentatively.

"...Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I understand hpw it is to wish individuals would change and follow your will. It never ends in a good manner." She smiled wryly, "I'm well aware I'm only delaying Matthew's inevitable fate and the same can be said of you if you continue down this path. If you wish to retain your friendship with Mary Jane then I suggest you try to understand her rather than letting your view color what she _should_ do."

She didn't say anything and just walked out as soon as she saw Peter close by. Peter looked between her and Page warily before following after her, "Gwen, are you alright?" No response. She kept walking till she was far away from the library and close to a wide park, "Hey, whatever she said to you just ignore it. Sometimes she can be worse than Matt."

"Am I wrong, Peter?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Am I wrong for not wanting MJ to turn into some fucked up serial killer? Am I wrong to not want you to get caught in cult torture cellars?"

"...What did Page tell you?"

"Just tell me."

He sighed and sat her down on a nearby bench then grabbed two scoops of ice cream from the milling vendor, "You're not wrong." She took the offered sweet and he sat next to her, "But I do wish you'd trust us more. I know that what happened three years ago scared you. You're afraid of losing your friends after what happened that night at prom and you think you have to protect us so you don't lose us."

"Could you blame me? The things you've told me about your trip, what you've been doing since you got back here, feels like you're balancing on a wire and there's no net underneath."

"Believe me, I know." He took a small bite of his vanilla cone. If it were any other situation she would've found it cute, "But that doesn't mean you shouldn't trust us. We know what we can do and if we really needed help we'd tell you."

"I do trust you and MJ. It's that monster she's attached to that I don't."

**'It's been a year, Gwen. The chances of the red one taking over Mary Jane are unlikely.'**

"She's lived with for over a year now, don't see that changing anytime soon. Point is if you really want to to make up with her then talk to her and just...let her speak. You might not like what you hear and you might not be able to convince her to see things the way you do, but it's better than trying to force her and losing your best friend."

"But if she is just playing judge, jury and executioner? Just...killing people the second they commit a crime? What if every person she kills just makes that monster stronger?"

"Then we'll deal with it when it comes to that, but I don't think that's it. From what I've seen she gives them one chance to take their punishment the way you do. Maybe she should give them more than one chance, but that's something we'll have to talk about face to face."

"Yeah..." Gwen nodded. She didn't want to lose MJ, "...Changing the subject a bit, the next semester's coming up. Any chance you're coming in?" she asked hopefully.

"Still don't have a job."

"You know I can pay for it." She held up a hand before he could interrupt, "And by that I mean I can pay for it first and then you pay me back. Like a loan. Cause if you're really going to try and make everything yourself then I'll probably graduate by the time you enroll."

"Hm...point." He brought a hand through his hair, "Fine then. First we deal with Mary then my future education aspirations."

Their phones suddenly rang. Both of them answered and saw Cindy on the other end of a group call, "Guys, uh...you near a TV by any chance?"

"No. Why?" Gwen asked.

"Better if I show you."

She twisted the phone to a jumbotron and Gwen immediately groaned when she saw Boomerang on the screen, "-ernoon, ladies and gentlemen! I'm sorry for the interruption of your mindless sitcoms and reality TV shows, but I have an announcement to make. We here of the Sinister Six-" Gwen rolled her eyes, "Feel like we're not being taken as seriously as we should be."

"How do they keep hijacking those damn TV's..." Peter muttered.

"So I feel like I should do something about that." Boomerang moved the handheld camera to a captive audience bound by their arms to their seats, "See I figured that making small scores wasn't getting us anywhere so here's what we're going to do. Spider-Man, I know you're watching."

"Fuck..." Gwen scowled.

"And I know you've got a big price on your head! 30 million dollaroonies! Man, I don't know who you pissed off to get that much and really I don't care! Point is you're a big payday and I wanna be paid. So here's what we're gonna do. You come here in the next 60 minutes and have us a good old proper showdown. Just you and me mano-e-spider. If you don't, well..." He turned back to the 'audience' and waved a detonator in his hands, "Then people are gonna start flying. You get me?"

"Oh, and don't even think about coming in with your Defenders buddies. I see anyone else but you and this whole place goes boom!"

Cindy twisted the phone back, "That's been on loop for the past 10 minutes. Cops are on their way to the studio but we can't exactly bust in when he has hostages. We think he has bombs in the basement. It should give him enough time to detonate and make his escape in case we try anything." She shook her head, "This doesn't make any sense. This Boomerang guy's supposed to be a joke, how the hell did he take over a studio?"

"Probably Hobgoblin. According to Shocker that's how people are getting busted out," Gwen said, "Point is we gotta do something."

"I'll go. I'll disable the bombs in the basement first then get that clown's detonator," Peter said.

"You really gonna do this by yourself? And while you look like that?" Cindy asked.

"He's not the worst psychopath I've dealt with. And the Hand already know I'm a kid again so there's no point in hiding it."

"I'm coming with you then," Gwen said, "You disable the bombs first and when you get the detonator I'll help you deal with them. There's no way Boomerang's alone."

"I know." He stood up and pulled the hood over his head, "Come on, let's make him wish he didn't crawl his way out of his cell."

* * *

**InitiativeBro: **So...5 bucks says **Boomerang's** gonna get executed on live TV.

**Reply from WonderSiblings: **Yeah I have no idea what this guy's thinking. **Spider-Woman** won't kill him but you sure as shit **Spider-Man** will.

**Reply from Tethys: **Maybe this is suicide by super? I've seen stupider.

**Reply from InitiativeHopeful: **Just heard from the grapevine that some Initiative Heroes are heading over there too in case Spider-Man fails.

**Reply from InitiativeBro: **Sure they don't wanna arrest Spidey too? I've heard some whispers that they think he's free game now that Spider-Woman's not protecting him anymore.

**Reply from Tethys: **A bunch of guys playing weekend heroes vs a guy who fought a demon and took down the Kingpin? This I gotta see...

* * *

**Last chapter of the new year out. Hope you guys'll keep reading up to the next :) I really need to update Two Spiders on a Web, by the by. It's been months since the last chapter. Maybe after this.**

**Anyway, next chapter will have full on Battle Couple moments since it'll be Peter and Gwen against the Sinister Six. Hopefully it'll satisfy those who wanted to see the two main leads cooperating more. **

**Questions:**

**1\. Would you guys have preferred it if Mary Jane didn't become a protagonist? It's too late to change it now but I'm curious all the same. **

**2\. Do you guys think Matt's a decent enough replacement to Bullseye? Readers seem to like him well enough but I wonder how he compares.**

**3\. Do you agree with Karen that Gwen's too controlling and desires power or is she just projecting super hard/Gwen is justified to feel this way considering what her friends get up to?**

**Review Answers:**

**G. Ward - Bullseye? Probably not. Not much a fan of Matt?**

**Ch4os4Ever - And a happy holidays to you too :)**

**rc48177 - A 'Nice Guy'? Not sure. He can be annoyingly pushy, true, but he doesn't act like Gwen belongs to him or that he's owed sex. That's more Roxxon.**

**ToasyIce - You as well :)**

**ArkT - Why exactly does she struggle to carry the show, so to speak? Feels like she has as much character as Cindy or Lana.**

**Hardlight - Peter/MJ? They aren't a viable pairing since by the time MJ got feelings for him he and Gwen are already together.**

**Dr. Sugarcakes - Initiative's coming back? Huh, that's new.**


	34. Wrath of the Sinister Six

**This chapter was a bit of a doozy. First half was done over days of me being lazy and then the next half was done super quick over the course of a few hours. I blame it on the first half containing a really annoying fight scene. I'm never good with those. **

**Anyway I'll cut back on fight scenes for the next few chapters and focus more on pair interactions. With any luck I might be able to do the pure film noir chapter along with aging Noir back to an adult for less silly looking segments.**

**Also, I put back the vote for the chose of Mary Jane's love interest now that she's had some more interactions with Felicia. Seems to have paid off given that Black Cat is slowly catching up to Daredevil as the preferred LI. **

* * *

"You got this, Pete?"

"Yeah..." He cut communication and crouched along the length of the vent. Much as he didn't like the idea of some machine being under his skin he had to admit it was useful. Much easier than lugging a phone around everywhere and hoping it didn't fall out of his pocket or get stepped on by a bruno with more muscles than sense. No stupid codes either.

Cops (and Cindy) were outside while the 'audience' and that Boomerang chump were on the upper floors. And he wasn't alone. Even a quick scan of the footage showed at least a few masked bozos, each of them wearing stupid boomerang masks, holding the staff hostage while Boomerang continued to rant about 'facing each other like men'.

What a joke. What time did he ever show that he was willing to fight fair?

Footsteps below him. Peter lowered himself to a crawling position and looked through the grates. Five masked bozos, each of them carrying shotguns and rifles. Ahead of them was a babbling, sweating technician who spoke quickly and in a panic. He tampered with some of the wiring down here to mess with the electronics. Not enough to cut off the broadcast entirely, but enough that the clown upstairs'd send someone down to check on it.

"Ugh, this guy's giving me a headache..." Gwen said. He still wasn't completely used to hearing someone's voice directly in his skull. Reminded him of when the Lizard and his own guilt started talking a year ago, "Seriously, where do supervills keep getting henchmen? Is there a henchmart or something cause I swear they're buying these guys in bulk."

"Always easy to find idiots who'll give up their lives for some long green." Least those chumps were easy. True believers were where things became problematic.

"Or a chance for fame, in this case," Cindy cut in, "I just saw this guy's ad. Dude was hiring out and said he'd pay in 'henching experience' and some camera time."

"That can't be true," Gwen said.

"Nope, right here. Says and I quote 'any aspiring supervillains will gain valuable experience and some much needed exposure'. I mean he's paying them some of that bounty too but that's the main draw. Apparently these guys think killing Pete's just the thing they needed to launch their bad guy careers. Congratulations, Pete, you'e officially one of the big names."

"Thanks, I feel so honored." Peter rolled his eyes and stopped just above the movable grate. One of the bozos stopped to check his gun. Peter moved it to the side and webbed the masked clown's head with Gwen's webshooter. Before he could struggle Peter shot another web at his back and tugged him up to the vent. A quick back elbow and another carpet of webbing made short work of him. Good thing his strength didn't diminish along with his age.

He jumped down to the floor and snuck along the high shelves. Least his new size was good for _something_, "How's the blowhard up top?" he asked softly.

"Still ranting. This guy really thinks you're his big break," Cindy said.

"Of all people why would Hobgoblin break _him_ out?" Gwen sighed.

"How do you even know he did? I think we've established well enough the prisons here couldn't hold a 5 year old..."

"Peter!"

"Complaining at me doesn't make it any less true- hold on." Another one stopped, this one to keep watch. Peter waited till the others closed door behind them before he jumped down on his back and grabbed his neck in a vice grip. Peter webbed his head with paralytic webbing and kicked the gun away as the paralysis kicked in after some struggling.

If there was one thing he hated about that little dip he took it was how much harder it was to fight. Punching and grabbing people was much harder when you were half their size and could barely wrap your arms around their neck.

He considered grabbing the gun before thinking better. He needed to do this quiet.

"Speaking of prisons, any idea where these guys are going?" Gwen asked, "I heard the city's really been cracking down on costumed crime ever since that new Lantern gang popped up."

"Yeah. Mayor says it's a deterrent to make sure we don't get a repeat of what happened the last time that pumpkin headed freak got a gang. Anyone wearing a mask goes to Rykers or The Raft," Cindy said, "Personally I think it's pretty to abuse. I'm not gonna cry for every mugger or purse snatcher but I don't think wearing a balaclava or halloween mask means they deserve supermax."

He lifted the grating on the floor and crawled through the lower vents to the next room. At least the vents in this dimension were convenient, "Makes no difference to me. They already want me shrunk and in a cage." Those Dyne particles being used on the inmates almost made him feel sorry for them. Almost.

"Speaking of, there's some Initiative guys out here. And I don't think they're here for just Boomerang's gang..." Cindy said.

"Yeah, I heard about that. They think because we're broken up that means suddenly you're open game." He practically saw Gwen shaking her head, "This is so fucking dumb. After all you did some people think you're just another supervillain..."

"You're surprised? People treated you like garbage for two years because of that blowhard Jameson. Pete's an easy target," Cindy said.

"The bounty probably doesn't hurt. Not dumb enough to think some people didn't sign up to beat up people in costumes and get paid for it." Another one. The last two bozos were looking at the whimpering electrician. Peter opened the grate and shot out a net of paralytic webbing then dragged him down below the floor. One punch to the head and he was out like a light.

"How's it going there, Pete?" Cindy asked.

"Two left. Should be able to get the bomb locations from them." That was the other thing. Somehow Boomerang managed to wire this place to blow. His spider-sense didn't ring when he heard it so it wasn't a lie, "You ready, Gwen?"

"Yep. You take the lower floors and I take the upper ones. We'll meet up when you get the detonator from Boomerang."

"And I'll get the boys in blue ready to evac the hostages. Won't be able to help you two so make sure you can handle it."

"I doubt Boomerang and his goomba squad are gonna be the ones to do me in."

Peter jumped up to the floor and webbed the fourth thug to the wall. The electrician screamed and the last palooka turned around just in time for Peter to yank his gun out of his hands, "Not this time." He dodged the clumsy attempt at a punch and kicked his legs, knocking him the floor. Peter clambered on top of him and pressed a gun under his jaw, "Scream and I pull the trigger."

"Wh-What the fuck-"

"_Run_." He growled up at the technician. At least Moon Knight's mask distorted his voice into something halfway respectable. The terrified employee decided against pushing his luck and scrambled into the nearest closest. Good, less people to watch out for. Peter grabbed the radio from the thug's pocket and webbed it to the floor. Just the two of them now.

"Who the fuck are-"

"I'm asking the questions here." He pressed the gun harder and the clown gulped, "I'll make this nice and slow. Where are the bombs?"

"I-I ain't tellin' you shit, kid! You ain't got the balls to-"

Peter shot right next to his head. Even with the silencer on the proximity would've made it deafening, "Next round goes in your skull! Where are the bombs?!"

"Fuck, okay, okay! The boss gave us directions on the phone cause he got tired of repeating!"

Peter took the phone and smiled wryly at the smudged fingerprint over 0, "And I thought my phone was bad." He tapped 0 four times and followed the directions till he got the 3D map and managed to transfer it, "Thanks. Now take a nap."

"Take a wha-"

He elbowed him right in the nose and webbed him down, "Alright, I've got the bomb locations on my phone. I'll send it to Gwen and deal with the bombs on my end."

"Mmm...alright, I've got it. Heading up to the roof."

"Make sure you don't get caught."

"Give me some credit, Pete. Your lessons actually stuck." He never recalled giving her much lessons but he trusted her to deal with it. She wouldn't have risked the hostages if she wasn't damn sure.

"You guys are sure you know how to disable them, right?"

"Wouldn't be the first time," Peter said. Japan was _not_ a fun time for him. Even more of a pain considering he couldn't smuggle his guns in.

"I can use Webster to disable all the internals. Did it before."

"Right. Just...don't blow us all up. And make it quick; I think Boomerang's getting impatient."

The bombs (seven in total) were exactly where the map said they'd be, and they were a familiar model too. Peter cut the wires in order (red, blue, green, yellow, red) and listened along on Gwen's progress. Apparently she was doing well, "Good thing criminals never look up," she quipped over the comm line (which Cindy insisted on calling a Codec for some reason), "Or maybe it's those stupid boomerang masks. Dunno how they see out of those things."

"...Says the woman wearing a hood?" Cindy asked sarcastically.

"Better than half a scarf."

"I'm starting to regret giving you two this frequency." Next bomb down. Just one more to go, "These bombs aren't placed very well. Not on any load bearing beams and these kinds of explosives don't have much of a blast radius."

"You know you sound like a terrorist saying stuff like that?" Gwen asked.

"He's in the building too so my guess is the bombs are meant to spread fire rather than collapse the structure. Boomerang's an idiot but I doubt he's dumb enough to topple of a building on himself." Cindy sighed, "Of course that won't help the people he has tied up in the studio."

"I've got my last bomb. Spider-Woman?"

"Two more. You should go after Boomerang while I deal with these two. He won't detonate the bombs as long as you show up alone."

"Long as he recognizes me, you mean..."

"Ah, you were always pretty short. What's a couple more feet?" Cindy quipped.

"Says the 29 year old woman who still gets carded when she tries to buy beer." Peter webbed down the last bomb (just in case) and jumped up the nearby vent. According to the blueprints Cindy managed to scrounge up the studio floor was close by. All he'd have to do was grab that detonator from that clown's grubby mitts and they could start rescuing the hostages.

He was almost to the room when Cindy called again, "Uh...we've got a bit of a problem, Pete."

"What now?"

"Looks like Boomerang got worried his goons downstairs didn't check in. He knows you're in here and he wants you to walk down the front door in the next minute or he's blowing up the hostages."

"Damn it." So much for stealth.

He dropped from the vent and trudged to the double doors with his hands up. He'd hoped he could do this quick and quiet. The less fighting he had to do the less likely there'd be people who got caught in the crossfire. He really doubted Boomerang was alone in there. Even outside of his goons he always found other clowns stupid enough to follow him.

Peter pushed the doors open and grimaced at the blinding light that shone down on him, "Finally, the man of the hour arrives! You took your..." Boomerang stopped and just looked at him, "Uh...who the heck are you?"

"You called me here, remember?" He walked down the steps and subtly eyed the restrained hostages. Each of them were tied down with blinking bombs under their seats, "Wanted to fight mano-e-spider?"

"Listen, kid, I called Spider-Man over here, not Spider-Boy. If he's too much of a coward to come and fight me he shouldn't have made a kid do it instead. That's just not right."

"Says the guy trying to bomb a building full of people." He sneered under his mask and pointedly ignored the camera to his right. This clown wanted a show. Why were freaks in costumes so greedy for attention? "Listen, are we gonna do this or what? I have more important things to do than waste time with clowns who think boomerangs are a good theme."

"Wow. I almost felt sorry for you, kid."

He sighed and waved a hand through the air. Peter eyed the free one holding onto the detonator. Not a dead man's switch, thank God, but he'd still have to time it perfectly. One mistake and the people behind him would turn to red mist, "Look, how do you wanna do this? Cause if you really wanna fight one on one then I'd prefer we didn't do it in front of a crowd."

"What's wrong? Shy because of your new- okay, seriously what the hell happened to you? Did Spider-Woman shrink you down with wasp particles cause you guys broke up or what? Cause that's really messed up."

"What?! I'd never do that! Tell him to fuck off!" Gwen whispered hotly.

"It doesn't matter." Why the hell was this his life? He remembered a time when the guy threatening to blow people's heads off didn't act like a circus attraction, "You wanted me here and now I'm here. I came to fight, not paint each others nails."

"Yeah...about that." Oh, here came the trap. What a _surprise_... "I know I said we'd fight one-on-one but, well, I brought a little insurance just to make sure-"

He shot a line of webbing at the detonator and tugged hard, "Hey, that's mine!" Peter snapped it in half and disappeared into smoke, "Oh, real nice! Going invisible again! You really don't know how to fight fair!"

"Says the guy trying to spring a trap."

Cindy swung in through the window with a loud crash and beelined for the hostages, "Hey, I said one-on-one!" Boomerang screamed.

Peter reappeared behind him and kicked the back of his right leg, "Don't worry, she's not here for you." Boomerang swung back and Peter block the wrist before it could hit, "Just the two of-"

Spider-sense.

Peter flipped to the side to avoid the bolt of electricity. The shot of lightning singed his jacket and he cursed, "Always with the electros." Cindy stopped briefly to look at him and he waved her off, "Focus on the hostages," he said into the comm. He shot multiple nets of webbing as he dodged till the middle of the room was covered in a thick wall. That'd keep the hostages safe.

More electric bolts. Peter dodged them all till he was backed into a corner then shot a line of webbing that zipped him up to the ceiling, "Hey, I thought you couldn't do that!" Boomerang screamed. Peter ignored him and activated the adhesives on his boots before running and dodging the boomerangs and lightning bolts that came his way, "Just hold still, would ya? You don't gotta make this so hard!"

Now that he looked down he realized that the one throwing the lightning bolts was all too familiar.

"I'm gonna make fried spider!" Kaboom (stupid name in an ocean full of them) grinned up at him maniacally. Her face was still damaged from their last 'fight' a year ago and her neck was wrapped with a large, ugly brace.

"You gotta be kidding me..." He activated the adhesive on the gloves and twisted to avoid the next attack, "Didn't have enough of your face getting broken last time?" he called down.

"Grrr, shut up!" Another bolt. He jumped to the nearby wall and clung to it, "You have any idea how much hell the Raft was?! Getting your ass kicked by Peter Parker trashed whatever rep I had!"

"Like you had any to begin with. Funny that the only time you tried to attack someone was when they were in the hospital." He at least preferred her here compared to going after Lana again.

"Heh. When we kill you Baumgartner's nex-"

And that was as far as she got before he pulled out a pistol and shot her clean through her right palm, "_Don't_ talk about her." She shrieked like a banshee. Peter let himself fall and aimed another shot till he heard it. Soft hissing and laughter right in his ear, "How many stooges you bring, ya limey?"

"Hey, that's offensive!"

"Cry me a river." He disappeared into smoke and covered his nose and mouth with his right arm. He recognized the smell of the fear toxin Dewolff used and, while he didn't have to worry about seeing things, it didn't mean it smelled any pleasant, "Who the hell's this one?"

The laughter went from soft to booming, "Foolish vigilante! You face your doom at the hands of Mysterio-"

His entrance was spoiled when Kaboom suddenly screamed and shot at him again. Peter flipped over the nearby chair and kicked it towards Boomerang, "Hey, I'm not finished!" Mysterio whined, "We agreed that I would-"

"Fuck this! We're killing that little turd _now_!" Electric head snarled.

Spider-sense again. Peter raised his head and sighed in annoyance when the double door to his right slammed open and Beetle flew through the air towards him. Peter rolled to the side to avoid her fly-by and shot a line of webbing to her wings to pull himself to her back, "How many times do you need to be beat before this lesson sticks?" She swirled through the air erratically and Peter almost pulled her helmet off till an ungodly screech reached his ears.

He was too distracted to dodge the next flyer that came after him. Peter barely had time to turn before the figure clad in red grabbed him off of Beetle's back and they flew through the air in a spinning frenzy.

The last guy was someone new. A freakshow clad head to toe in red with only the upper half of his deformed face and his fingers exposed. Under his arms were a mass of bladed wings that reminded him far too much of Toomes' old harness, "Who the hell are you supposed to be?" he grit out. The bastard actually squawked like a damn bird and when Peter saw his mouth he turned away in disgust. It was wide and misshapen with shark like teeth and mandibles on his lower jaw.

Peter webbed his mouth shut and jumped right before the freak crashed headfirst into a wall. He landed on the ground in a slight crouch and growled when the web melted off of the red freak's face. Skin must've been hardened if the paralytic didn't kick in.

"Takes five of you to fight a kid, huh?" He sneered at the gathered group and lowered himself into a crouch. Now that they outnumbered him he saw just how cocky they were. Thought because they'd survived against Gwen that he'd be easy pickings.

Boomerang smirked and opened his mouth to let out another taunt when the wall of webbing behind Peter was sliced open and Gwen swung through, "Hey, hope you guys didn't start the party without me!" She landed a fair distance away from him with a graceful flip and he saw the way most of them flinched. Not so brave when now that there was someone stronger than them. Typical opportunistic bullies.

Gwen was about to make another quip when Peter suddenly growled, "What the hell are you doing here?" She blinked and almost asked him what the hell his damage was before she quickly remembered that they were supposed to hate each other, "I had this covered."

"Really? Cause it looked to me like you were getting your butt handed to you," she shot back, putting just the right amount of dry judgement into her voice, "And for the record I didn't come here for you. I'm here for the Supervillains who tried to hold an entire building hostage."

"Can't help sticking your nose where it doesn't belong, can you?"

"Someone has to clean up your messes-"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Boomerang yelled, "This really ain't the time for your couple's argument! And this was supposed to be one-on-one!"

"...Do I even have to point out how wrong that is?" Gwen snarked.

Boomerang's response was cut off when Kaboom (couldn't have picked a better name) shot a line of electricity towards Peter. He dodged and disappeared into smoke while she jumped and shot two lines of web to Beetle, "Surprised you're over here, Beetle. What, not gonna try to defend your dad in court?" Still boggled her mind that she wasn't in prison yet. Then again neither was Murderdock.

"Shut up! You're going to pay for that!"

Gwen dodged the subsequent laser blasts and aimed a punch straight for her head. Beetle flew back and creepy Vulture guy flew towards her, clawed hands out and squawking something unintelligible, "Woah there! Down body!" Gwen grabbed him by his wrists and leaned back to avoid his slobber. Guy smelled like blood and rotten meat, "Ugh, good thing I had a light lunch..."

She flipped back and kicked him straight up his jaw. He stumbled back slightly then turned back to glare at her, the mandibles on his face extending grossly. She didn't get a chance to comment before Beetle shot more lasers at her that she was forced to dodge.

"Don't let her get too close! She might shrink you down too!" Boomerang shouted.

"I did _not_ do that!" Gwen shouted back.

Not too far away, Peter re-appeared close to the now-vacant seats and Kaboom immediately started blasting, "Just hold still!" He ducked behind the seats and shot through the small gaps. Two bullets hit her in the stomach while the third shot through her foot, "Agh, you son of a-"

"Hold, vigilante!"

Mysterio covered the room in green gas with a sickly sweet smell and she immediately felt lightheaded, **'Hold your breath, Gwen. I'll block out the gas.' **Gwen mentally replied in the affirmative and focused her attention back on Vulture after webbing Beetle's legs and wrist lasers. Should hold her for a couple of minutes, **"The gas is supposed to make us see things. Hallucinations."**

_'Yeah, I dealt with this guy before.'_ Before she got Webster. Back then it was just her and Kate.

Red Vulture squawked and flew at her again. Gwen webbed his chest, spun him around and tossed him to the wall. He actually managed to land somewhat gracefully before she tugged herself towards him and punched him in the face, "I'll stop hitting you if you give up." He tried to claw her face off, "Guess not." She sighed and continued to wail on him. Why did they never give up?

Spider-sense. Gwen's eyes narrowed and she jumped, taking Vulture with her. Two beeping boomerangs flew below them and the wall exploded into large chunks, "Hey, you nearly killed your buddy!" She shouted down at Boomerang. He aimed at her again before Peter suddenly appeared at his back and slammed him to to the wall with a painful crack, "Don't kill _him_ either, Spider-Man!"

"Worry about yourself!"

Beetle broke through her bindings and flew to her in a mad charge. Gwen was tackled clear through the hole and both she and Beetle flew through the open air outside, "Was kinda busy, Beetle!" Gwen tugged her wrist back just in time to avoid the laser aimed at her head. Just barely she saw Vulture flying out the hole after them, "Ugh, seriously? I'm not a flying Spider!"

She shoved Beetle off then flipped over Red Vulture's swipe. Gwen webbed his harness as he passed then pulled herself towards him. He turned just in time to eat four punches to the face, "Woah, hold on." She kicked him down to the nearby roof and webbed the grenade Beetle shot at her, "Hey, think you lost this!" She tossed the grenade back to the other flyer.

**_'We need to return and help Peter.'_**

_'Yeah, just gimme a sec.' _Vulture shot sharpened feathers aimed straight at her face. Gwen yanked herself to the side with some web then pulled herself towards him again. She dodged his clawed swipes and grabbed the harness, "I think you need a timeout." She tugged hard and, after some struggling and indignant squawking, ripped the flying gear clean off.

Gwen kicked him in the jaw and slammed him to the ground before webbing him down, "One down, one to..." Spider-sense. She flipped over Beetle and webbed her wings, "Your turn." She spun around quickly then slammed Beetle facefirst next to her buddy. Her suit could take it. Before she could turn around to fire again Gwen webbed her wrists to the ground followed by the rest of her body.

Back inside the room, Peter jumped and kneed Boomerang straight in the gut, "Ow, you son of a-" Spider-sense. Peter slid between Boomerang's legs and let him take the full blast of Kaboom's next attack. The poor bastard took the brunt of it but a few arcs still move past him and hit the mask straight on. The nightvision suddenly activated, almost blinding him, and Peter growled before tugging the mask off. Moon Knight put too much damn tech in his masks. Convenient, but too easy to break.

Boomerang convulsed briefly then fell to the ground, still twitching.

"Thanks," he said dryly.

Kaboom paid her fallen 'leader' no mind and just continued trying to attack him while Mysterio continued to (uselessly) pump more gas. Thank you, Spider-God, "Why isn't this working?! You should be seeing your worst fears right now!"

He didn't answer, focusing instead on weaving between Kaboom's blasts, "Come on..." Peter dodged and waited for her next attack then webbed her right hand and aimed it at her face just before the energy was released.

The sudden hit was enough to stun her. Peter webbed both her arms to her chest in a cross position and tackled her to the ground, "No, not aga-" He hit her in the face again and again till her struggling stopped. Peter elbowed her (broken) nose one last time for good measure and stood up shakily.

Mysterio was the last one left. He looked at his fallen comrades and Gwen swinging back to the open wall then put his hands up, "...I surrender?" Peter and Gwen looked at one another briefly before he tugged the helmet off, jumped and kicked him in the face. He fell to the ground with a moan of pain.

"Was that really necessary?"

"He held this building hostage. I'm not feeling too sorry." Gwen webbed him down with a sigh while he did the same for Boomerang and Kaboom. Now they just needed to-"

Spider-sense.

He and Gwen shared another look before they heard it: laughter. Soft at first, then louder and louder. Gwen opened her mouth to say something when Webster _screamed_, **'Gwen, something's-'**

The laughter became deafening. Gwen fell to her knees, hands against her ears to futilely block out the ungodly screech. Next to her Peter did the same and she felt a pit in her stomach when she saw the sudden, heavy nosebleed he was sporting.

Through blurry, weakening vision she saw the figure fly in through the hole in the wall with a glider and land with a loud thump. Just when she felt like she was about to pass out the laughter stopped, "Well now, lookie what we have here." His voice was rough and raspy, like sandpaper against her skin, "When Boomerang told me about his little plan I didn't think it'd actually work."

"W-Who..." She was too weak. Could barely even look up.

"You can call me Hobgoblin. But that's not important now." He kicked Peter to his back and stomped on his neck. Gwen struggled to stand before he pointed a flaming sword at her neck, the tip just barely brushing skin, "Ah, ah, ah! Bossman didn't say anything about killing you. I'm just here for the bounty on this guy. Cool 30 million dollars for this guy's head. Who could resist?"

"You-"

And then she saw it: another figure clad in red. For a second she thought he had backup before she recognized the long, crimson hair, "Now be a good girl and-" The arm holding onto the sword was sliced clean through and fell to the ground with a dull smack. The grin on his goblin mask slackened and he turned to the new arrival only to get his face grabbed and he was thrown on the opposite side of the room.

Mary Jane looked down at her offered her a hand, "Get up."

"Scarlet...what are you doing here?" She accepted the offered hand and let her pull her up into a shaky stand.

"Evening the odds." She pulled Peter up too. He mumbled a soft thanks and wiped the blood from the lower half of his face. Gwen bit her tongue to keep from screaming - there was blood dripping down from his _eyes_, "We should finish him off."

"Seems like you already did that..." He eyed the severed arm lying on the ground. Somehow it was still holding onto the sword.

"I doubt it."

"She's right about that." Gwen's head snapped to the orange figure and she grimaced when he stood up, left arm bleeding enough to kill him a dozen times over, "Didn't think you'd bring backup twice in a row. Can't you do anything by yourself?"

"Says the guy who tried for six on one." Peter scoffed.

"Ha...point."

The glider sputtered to life and started spewing flames and bombs, "I'll deal with it." Mary Jane said. The two of them only managed a short nod before they separated, MJ dealing with the rampaging machine while they focused on the grinning psychopath.

Peter got there first. He ducked the swipe of the wrist blades and aimed a kick to the back of his right leg only for the blow to bounce off, "Reinforced, Spidey. Better luck next time." Peter moved back and Gwen took over, punching him twice in the head then slamming him up against the wall with a kick to the gut. She tried her best to ignore the blood that rained down on her costume.

He opened his mouth to laugh again. Peter webbed his jaw shut and hit him hard on the neck. Gwen followed up with three more hits and her spider-sense blared way too late to warn her of the wrist blade that cut through her stomach,** 'Ow! Whatever that blade is it hurts!'**

_'Yeah, I got that.' _She shared one last nod with Peter then charged ahead again. Gwen grabbed his remaining arm mid-swing and kneed his side, "Not so fast, one-arm willy!" She webbed said arm and his legs to the wall. Peter attacked him again, focusing on where the armor was weakest, and Gwen followed up whenever there was a gap.

Gwen heard a loud, metallic screech behind her and she looked back quickly. MJ flipped over the rampaging glider and shifted her right arm into a blade. She sliced down hard and cut the glider in two.

"Spider-Woman-"

Her spider-sense tingled way too late and when she looked back Peter was kicked away and a hand latched onto her throat, "Man, you guys are a pain in the ass!" It was his right hand gripping her. The hand that'd been cut off just a minute ago. Gwen looked down and let out a choked gasp when she saw the torn web, saw the claws and scales that ran down the length of the flesh.

Lizard serum. He had the Lizard serum.

"Spider-Woman!"

MJ swung towards her and Hobgoblin suddenly laughed in her face. The costumed redhead fell to the ground in a heap and he stomped on her back, "You two really don't like sound, huh?" He stomped her back hard and she heard a painful crack, "Those suits of yours are damn useful, but damn easy to-"

Peter disappeared into smoke and when she saw him next he was on top of Hobgoblin and stabbing a knife into his neck. He let go of Gwen and stumbled back from the frenzy of stabs. Gwen coughed and barely managed to pull MJ up into a stand when Hobgoblin pulled a pin one of the grenades strapped to his chest.

Peter just kept stabbing.

Gwen webbed his back and pulled seconds before the explosion blinded them. Gwen shut her eyes tightly and covered her ears as she stumbled back, struggling to keep her balance. The ringing in her ears last for over a minute and by the time she opened her eyes again Hobgoblin was gone.

"...It was a flashbang. You didn't have to pull me out." She didn't know whether the bitterness in Peter's tone was genuine or part of the act.

"Better safe than sorry, Spider-Man..."

"And to be fair I'm not sure if your stabs were even doing anything. Most people die when you stab them in the throat once, nevermind a dozen times," MJ said. She brought a hand through her masked face and looked around the destroyed room, "...Camera's still up." Gwen looked to where she was pointing and found that, yes, somehow the camera was still upright and recording. Someone was going to make a killing in bootlegs.

"...Show's over." Peter pulled out his gun and shot the lens.

"Was that really necessary?" Gwen asked.

"I hate being recorded." He shook his head, "That guy had the serum. How many clowns in this city are gonna dose themselves up?"

**'I felt it when he was choking us, Gwen. The serum is different. More...refined, if that's the right word.'**

"Knew it looked familiar." Mary Jane shook her head, "Look, could we get outta here? I kinda bungled this rescue considering Tiger had to be the one to finish the guy."

"I didn't finish anything. That bastard's still out there." He sighed, "...Let's just leave."

They were barely out of the front door before they got bombarded by a crowd. Police trying to secure the site, standby reporters asking questions. some of the hostages stopping by to thank them. It was enough to make her headache worse.

Of course that wasn't the worst part.

"Stop right there." Gwen looked to the source of the voice and grimaced when she saw a squad of Initiative Heroes stomping towards them. Normally she would've been happy to see them - more heroes were always good - but the girl at the head soured her mood. Alpha, real name Andrea Maguire. Capable of flying and shooting the odd energy beam. Nothing she hadn't seen before.

Of course, her real power was somehow managing to stay upright considering the size of her ego. Seemed like she did more advertising and posting on tweeter than actual patrols.

"What do you guys want? Kinda busy here..."

"We're not here for you, Spider-Woman. Good work up there." She smiled. Gwen didn't, "We're just here to arrest a criminal."

"If you're talking about the Sinister Six I think the cops got it covered." MJ crossed her arms.

"We're talking about him." She glared down at Peter. Peter, his face still bare and caked with dried blood, just stared back at her impassively, "Spider-Man is a dangerous vigilante and villain and we're here to take him into a custody." Oh, now she saw it. She was here to catch Spider-Man and then tweet about it after. The first and only person to capture the elusive Spider-Man.

Gwen was about to say something (and probably break her cover into itty bitty pieces) when MJ thankfully spoke up in her stead, "Are you kidding me?" she asked, practically growling, "You guys wait till after he just got done dealing with those clowns upstairs before you try something? What, worried you couldn't actually do anything unless the guy you're after is practically crippled?"

"This doesn't concern you."

"I think it does." She stepped in front of Peter, "You guys talk a big game about being here to arrest Supervills but I didn't see you guys up there helping either of them take down the Sinister Six and save the hostages." The paparazzi were turning their cameras to them now. Not good, "What's wrong? Scared actually putting your life at risk?"

Alpha's eyes narrowed and she barely held back a scowl, "You're a vigilante too, if you forget. We can haul you in."

"You wanna try it?" MJ asked, voice dipping to something low and dangerous. She stepped closer and Gwen didn't miss the way Alpha gulped and took a step back, "I'll let you have the first hit. Go ahead."

"Y-You-"

"That's enough." Gwen stepped between them, "You guys shouldn't fight. Alpha, even if you disagree with them they did help out up there. Maybe just let them go for now?"

"But-"

"Yeah...I don't feel good about this either." One of the Initiative Heroes behind her - Red 9 - said, "I mean, Spider-Man's like 6 years old right now. I really don't want to hurt a kid."

"What?! Guys, we agreed before. You know how good this'll be for us." And there it was.

Peter let out a long suffering sigh, "Better luck next time." He waved and disappeared into smoke. Gwen and Mary Jane shared a look before they both swung away too. The less people crowding around them the better.

* * *

**Your Death9: **Everyone saw that livestream, right?

**Reply from Day Mun: **Hell yeah! That shit was intense. **Spider-Woman** and **Spider-Man** vs the** Sinister Six**. And there were actually six of them this time!

**Reply from Crania South: **Should've known that Spider-Woman would jump in. **Boomerang** made a huge mistake broadcasting this stuff live. Shame her fight with Vulture guy and **Beetle** was outside.

**Reply from Pawpricez: **Yo but for real did anyone else see **Scarlet Spider**?! She came in with a giant assist at the end there!

**Reply from JC: **Course Spider-Man stole the show at the end there with those knife tricks.

**Reply from Day Mun: **So what do you guys think'll happen to the Sinister Six? Molecular shrinkage?

**Reply from Pawpricez: **Pretty sure that's still illegal. My guess is one inch.

**Reply from pink stretchy: **Yo, a friend just sent me a vid she took of some Initiative Heroes trying to arrest Spidey. **-embedded link-**

**Reply from Truce Truce: **Lol seriously? The guys really thought they could pull that shit?

**Reply from YourMomIsEdgy: **I mean **Alpha's **not wrong that Spider-Man's a vigilante, but it's pretty damn obvious she was doing it for views. Everyone knows she's an attention whore. You saw the way she was looking at the cameras?

**Reply from ****pink stretchy: **Yeah lol. Spider-Woman didn't help him, so I guess they're really over. Scarlet Spider really stepped up tho.

**Reply from JC: **I heard a rumor that one reason they broke up was cause he was cheating on her. You guys think he has something with Scarlet Spider?

**Reply from Day Mun: **Maybe? Would explain why she was so protective of him.

**Reply from roman r: **Speaking of Spider-Man, what the heck was up with him? Did Spider-Woman really shrink him?

**Reply from fireender: **Doubt it. Look at his face here when he took off his mask. He looks younger. **-embedded image-**

**Reply from NumberOneSpiderManFan: **OMFG he's so freaking cute! I wanna hug him! Ugghhhh!

**Reply from fireender: **Looks like he's into some fountain of youth stuff. Well, he came back from dying twice so I'm really not surprised.

**Reply from NumberOneSpiderManFan: **The picture's already making the rounds. Gonna make some nice comics from this!

**Reply from roman r: **...I think we created a monster.

* * *

They went back to her apartment. There was no plan or verbal agreement, but MJ followed her back and it didn't take long for Peter to arrive after them. They shifted out of their costumes while Peter washed off the blood in the bathroom, "...Drink?" MJ looked up from her place on the couch and blinked owlishly, "Um...I've got soda or hot chocolate. Bought some rootbeer too."

"Ah...hot choco."

She offered her the steaming drink and sat across from her. They didn't say anything, just occasionally sipping at the sweet chocolate till the sounds of running water stopped and the bathroom door opened, "Head's ringing..." Peter sat on the only other spare seat and rubbed his forehead weakly.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Nothing a good sleep won't fix." He shook his head and looked between them, "...You two?"

"We're cool. MJ and I heal fast." Gwen shrugged.

"That's not what I meant."

Both she and MJ flinched. They both knew what he wanted to say, "So..." Gwen put the cup down on the table. The both of them coming back here, they both knew it meant they were going to talk. They just didn't know where to start.

Peter started for them.

"You been doing anything the past week, Mary?"

"Huh? Uh...no, not really. Just working and keeping a low profile." Meaning she hadn't gone on any vigilante sprees. Gwen released a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"Where've you been staying the past week?" she asked.

"With Felicia. She actually offered and I figured it'd be better than crashing at Norah's place again. She actually had to go underground a bit; apparently she's looking up a new lead for Cindy."

"Felicia? That's...interesting." They came to the hospital together too. Well, she wasn't gonna complain. She and Felicia didn't get along but she was way better than Murderdock, "Hey...listen. We really need to talk about what happened at the hospital."

"I don't know what I can really say, Gwencent." The nickname, as sad as she sounded when she said it, brought her no small amount of relief. It meant she wasn't pushing her away, "I think I already said all that I needed at that rooftop."

"That's not..."

Webster jutted out of her shoulder, **"Gwen, I think it would be better if we spoke. All of us."** She looked at Mary Jane with an unreadable expression.

Mary Jane looked down at her feet for a moment before Crimson followed Webster's example. As always its eyes were abuzz with activity and its mouth was split in a wide, demented grin, _**"Back to this, are we?" **_Gwen kept herself from shuddering at its voice. She'd never get used to how similar it sounded to her, **_"Are you going to try to convince her that she's 'better than this'?"  
_**

**"We wish to understand."**

"Right..." Gwen nodded resolutely, "Just...tell me straight out, MJ. Your vigilante killing sprees, did that...thing make you do it?"

"...At first," she said eventually, "I made a deal with Crimson a year ago when were fighting Moon. We had to live with each other so we had to find some kind of compromise. Crimson wasn't going to stop killing and I couldn't get rid of it so we came to an agreement: we only kill the people who really deserve it and it won't hurt anyone else. No innocent people...and not you."

"MJ..."

"Summers said you tried to keep it suppressed for months," Peter said.

"Yeah. Tried everything. Meditation, exercise, 'private time'...nothing really worked. Then I ran into these two...pieces of shit trying to have his way with a woman in an alley. It just...it reminded me of what happened to me, what..." She clenched her hands shakily and Gwen eyed the scar on her right arm. Despite her powers that was the only thing she could never heal. A permanent reminder of what she was.

"...Did you kill them?" Gwen asked softly.

"Mhm." She nodded, "Didn't even realize what I was doing. All that time keeping Crimson bottled down and then being reminded of what happened to me just...I blacked out. When I woke up the woman was gone and I was covered in blood."

"And that's when you started working with Summers," Peter said.

"I figured that trying to point us in a specific direction was better than risking episodes. I always targeted the same kind of people. Murderers, rapists, human traffickers...the monsters who went to prison but got away because they had enough money or knew enough people that the system just let them out again. Anyone who hadn't gone to prison yet I gave a chance. One chance to own up and accept their sentence. If - when - they didn't I visited them again."

_**"Of course, she's not above breaking her own rules..." **_The red symbiote sounded gleeful at that.

**"What do you mean by that?"**

"It means that I've killed people even before they went to prison." She couldn't look her in the eye, "...You remember that girl from Arcade's 'game', right?"

"Hard to forget..." Peter scowled.

"Tracked her dad - if you could even call him that. He told me who he sold her to, some debt collectors my dad was into. Then I killed him." The way she said, so blank and void of emotion, scared Gwen more than any cry or scream, "I killed all of them. Murdock was there too, but I did most of it. Maybe I could've put them in jail but after what they did I didn't want them living it up like prison gangsters. They deserved to die."

"Probably would've done the same thing," Peter muttered.

"Peter-"

"No, Gwen, you don't get it. You're not...I'm not as strong as you. When the kid - I - died you swore that you'd never fail anyone again and you've kept to that. When I failed that girl, when my fingertips were just inches from that line and I realized I could've saved her if I'd just been faster, that feeling...there's a reason I didn't let that bastard Arcade live. I _couldn't_."

"Don't you think I know what failing to save someone feels like?" she shot back, "Peter, I held you in my arms when you died. Twice. I was there when Murdock made my mom stab my dad and he couldn't use his legs anymore. So don't you _dare_ tell I wouldn't 'get it'." Neither of them said anything, "And you know what? Yeah. I get it. If I could've killed Murdock after what he did to you and mom and dad? I would've. I might've regretted it later but I would've done it in a heartbeat."

"But that's not why we're here." She closed her eyes briefly, "MJ...when you told me back at the hospital that you didn't regret a single thing, was that you or the symbiote talking?"

"I...I don't know." She shook her head, "At first I wanted to deny it, just say that every person I killed made me sick because it made it easier to look at myself in the mirror. But that wasn't true. Those bastards wouldn't be hurting anyone else and I even saved some of the people they were about to kill. No more little girls sold, no more baby boys murdered while their mom was raped. Not from them."

**"We cannot truly say where Mary Jane ends and Crimson begins. Symbiotes affect their host but the hosts in turn affect us. You know this, Gwen."**

"But...I don't _feel_ any different from before," Gwen mumbled. She was still Gwen Stacy. Still Spider-Woman.

**"Anyone can say the same. If you ask someone if they feel like a different person from who they were before many will say no even if they had changed, even to the point of being unrecognizable. Peter has all the memories of his old life and yet he is not the Peter you both once knew."**

**_"In my case I no longer have the urge to kill you in your sleep. But I wouldn't complain if something bad happened to ruin your day." _**

"The point is I don't know if it's just Crimson fucking with my head, and I don't think I ever will. But how I feel right now? I wasn't lying when I said I didn't regret killing those people. There are some that I think I should've handled better, but the people we go after...they squandered their second chances long ago and they kept hurting - killing - people around them. I don't feel bad stopping them."

"...I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything." MJ smiled sadly, "Sorry. I know you really wanted me to be a hero just like you, but like Tiger said before: I just don't look good in the daylight."

"What happens now?" Peter asked.

"Well...I'm probably gonna keep doing this. But I'm following the rules I set before. If they didn't go to jail yet then I'm giving them that chance and I'm not breaking it again. And if I do have to kill someone then I'm going to do it quick. If I wanna be able to live with myself I need to stop blaming everything on Crimson."

"Honestly doesn't sound that much different from what I'm doing." He looked to Gwen, "Gwen, anything to say?"

"...Are you still going to be working with Murderdock?"

"Probably." Gwen took a deep breath and said nothing, "I know it hurts, especially after what he did to you both, but he can help me get through this...tangled web. The people who sold that girl? That's just the tip of the iceberg. I took a look at those files. Dozens, maybe even hundreds of innocent people - kids - treated less than human for some pocket change. If I can save them and put a stop to these bastards then I'll do anything. Even working with him."

"As far as reasons go I can't fault her." Peter crossed his arms and shrugged.

"I just...I need..." Gwen covered her face with both hands and bit back a scream, "I love you both. Peter, I can't think of anyone else I wanna spend the rest of my life with and MJ...you're my best friend. Knowing what you both do? It hurts. I wish I could change you, make it so you see the world the way I do, but I know that's wrong. The reason you both think like that is because of the things you've seen. Changing your mind's just as likely as changing the world. So that's exactly what I'm going to do."

"...I don't get it." MJ tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"You both do the things you do because of the way this place is. But what if you didn't have to? What if this place isn't so dark and twisted that you have to go so low? I don't care if I have to do it one day and one criminal at a time. I'll go out there and do whatever I can to make prove my way works. I can't change either of you, but I can make you want to stop."

"Gwen...you're strong, but you can't change human nature. You do realize that, right?" Peter asked softly.

"I can try. It's better than doing nothing."

"Well sure. If you can get this utopia up and running then feel free." MJ laughed, a mix of bitter and hopeful, and Gwen laughed in turn. It was so silly. Peter was right - did she honestly think she could just make evil go away enough that they'd change their minds? That if she put away enough criminals it would change things for the better permanently?

And yet the proof was right out there. The 50 States Inititiative. It had its flaws, but now people with gifts who would've been shunned and hated were using those gifts to help people. One step at a time.

"So...friends?" MJ held a hand out.

"Who said we ever stopped?" Gwen smiled brightly in turn and took her hand in a firm grip, "Just...be more honest with me next time. Okay?"

"Promise."

Crimson slunk back into MJ's shoulder with a disgusted noise while Webster retreated quietly. Just the three of them now, "Right, so...we should probably get dinner started. You're-"

"I'm not staying here," MJ said, cutting Gwen off. She just stared at the redhead blankly, "Look, I get it. We made our peace and I promise to be honest with you from now on, but...I still think I need some space. I mean Felicia offered to help me out for some reason and I'm going to be working with Murdock. It's gonna be kinda awkward coming back here everyday."

"I...see your point." Gwen bit down the argument at the tip of her tongue and nodded. If she wanted to to trust them she had to let them make their own decisions, I'll miss you."

"I'm not gonna be gone forever."

"Yeah, I know."

Peter's phone suddenly rang. He stared at the screen and raised a brow, "What's it say?" Gwen asked.

"It's Teresa...says she'll be here in a few days."

"Yes!" The words were out of Gwen's mouth before she realized it. MJ and Peter looked up, the former in amusement and the latter in confusion, when she suddenly stood up and pumped both fists in the air, "Yes! Finally something's going right!"

"...You're more excited than I am," Peter said with a slight smile.

"What'd you expect? She's been pent up ever since you got turned into Spider-Boy."

"Th-That's not the reason why!" Gwen shot back, a slight red tinge on her cheeks, "I'm just...glad Peter and Lana are gonna be okay. That's."

"Riiiggghhhttt." MJ grinned up at her teasingly, "So we should probably celebrate Tiger's imminent return to legalhood. Maybe watch a movie? My theatre's still showing the Spider-Woman film."

"That's still going on?" Peter asked.

"Yeah, they released a new extended cut that showed more of the Avengers. Come on, I kinda wanna see how fucked up they are writing Gwen."

Gwen was about to shoot something back before her phone rang, "Hey, Cindy. What's up?"

"Just checking in. You guys okay?"

Gwen put her on speaker, "Yeah, we're all here and we're fine, just took some hits. Where were you?"

"Had to get the hostages out and then I got called in at another incident. An attack on the Symarkian Embassy and Prince Silver Sablinova." A prince? Fancy, "More importantly it might be connected to Scorpion and the Maggia."

"Seems important," Peter said, "Guessing that's why you called."

"Yeah. I need a favor."

"Well you've helped us out a lot so hit me," Gwen said.

"According to an eyewitness account one of the attackers of the embassy matches the description of one specific Maggia goon. Tom Scaletta, better known as Big Tom. I could probably haul him in on suspicion but that's not gonna get me anything. According to Jean this guy never talks. Ever. So I'm gonna need you and Mary Jane to go undercover while me and Peter get some info."

"And I'm guessing you can't go undercover because right now everyone knows who you are," MJ said.

"Exactamundo."

"Starting to regret exposing your identity?" Gwen asked back somewhat smugly.

"It has its benefits. Back to the point, you and MJ have to go in disguise. Should be easy considering your suits, but...you might not like where you're going."

"...What do you mean?" She suddenly had a bad feeling.

"Uh...how do you feel about strip clubs? ...And dancing in said clubs?"

...

..._Fuck_.

* * *

**Flame: **Hey, I did some fanart for the **New Defenders** and the **Avengers.** Check them out :)

**Reply from Luna Faye: **Nice one :D I love how you drew **Striker's **costume in particular. The colors really pop out!

**Reply from HomewardBone: **Speaking of teams, are **Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, Striker, Spinerette **and **Scarlet Spider** part of one? They worked together really well during the hospital attack and Scarlet Spider came to rescue them today.

**Reply from Toxicxyz: **I doubt Spider-Man and Spider-Woman are on any kind of team now. That and how the hell do Spider-Woman, Spinerette and Striker get away with working so openly with vigilantes? Like isn't that as bad as the police doing it?

**Reply from okey: **The Avengers worked with the old Defenders during **Jack-o-Lantern's** attack on the city last year. The Defenders were also crucial in saving people during last year's** Carnage Killer** attack. I guess they have some leeway considering how useful they are.

**Reply from LemonCar: **Yep. You hear about criminals and even mafia dons who turn informant, right? Guessing this is the Superhero equivalent to that.

**Reply from Slepsy: **Does make me wonder if **Alpha **really could haul Spider-Man and Scarlet Spider in.

**Reply from Beyond Gaming: **Lol I'd like to see her try. We've seen Spider-Man take out _way_ worse than an instagram model with superpowers. And there's his pals the Defenders too. **Moon Knight** would rek those fools.

* * *

**Sinister Six (sans Hobgoblin) taken down for the time being and we have our next plot hook. Noir and Cindy are going to be working together to investigate the Maggia while Gwen and Mary Jane...yeah. Depending on audience reaction I might have to skip a majority of their pair segment, if only to avoid just how cringy I might write it. Lord knows me and writing sexy/erotic scenes get along like oil and water.**

**Anyway with the end of the last segment all the characters (sans Lana, who's still in the hospital recovering) are in a far better place mentally than before. Granted Gwen's goal of somehow changing NYC enough to change Noir and MJ's mind is a pipe dream at best but at least she's now focusing her efforts on a more proactive change rather than just arguing with them about their viewpoints. **

**Next chapter will be Cindy focused (been a while since we've gotten her) along with possibly ending Noir's kidification. Depends if I can do something with it for one last time.**

**Questions:**

**1\. Do you guys think Cindy and Lana should get love interests? If so, who? Note that it doesn't have to be a successful relationship. Failed ones could be just as good interaction fodder. And please remember that both of them are straight so pairing Cindy off with Gwen or Lana with Sue (both have been suggested before) won't work. **

**2\. What do you guys think of Mary Jane's new personality? I'm writing her as more confident, confrontational and (later on) more open and comfortable with intimacy and sexuality whereas before she was cynical, cut off and celibate (weird moments with Peter aside) due to her angst. Maybe her new personality will make her more similar to her 616 version. **

**Review Answers:**

**Paul Garros - Frog-Man makes it clear that he does admire Spider-Man; he just wishes he'd break up with Gwen so he could 'get a chance'. He never wishes harm on him and even indicates he wants him to get together with Cindy.**

**Wait, Gwen is a vessel to show how cool Noir is? This is despite the fact that Noir needs far more rescuing than she does and Gwen's fight scenes tend to be more standard superhero flaire whereas Noir's tends to be short, brutal beatdowns. Unless by cool you mean violent, in which case yes Gwen does show how much more violent and murderous Noir is by comparison.**

**Esquire-Man - MJ's deal currently is trying to find her place as a hero and focusing on her goal of stopping monsters.**

**Dr. Sugarcakes - Yeah, the 'teen heroes illegal' thing is bullshit. One because they're all vigilantes and therefore illegal by default, and Two because for some inane reason they decided to include Gwen (at least 19 and _from another fucking dimension_) and Kate Bishop (a 21 year old _legal adult_). **

**Krolikson - Don't worry, I'll keep it rare.**

**henchman213 - Thing I already did that with Noir and the Defenders fighting Arcade. Don't wanna do a repeat.**

**VitoRiceBowl - Matt's trolling doesn't bother you?**


	35. Moving Forward

**Had to do this chapter in a day so I'm not sure of the quality.**

**Anyway, I took down the poll since it seems like Felicia and Matt are about equal on votes now. So I guess I'll just write a love triangle where Mary Jane has to choose. That should be...fun. **

**On a side note, some of the twitter segments in this chapter are done by Nerdman3000, the guy who made the MJ Extra chapter in Two Spiders on a Web. I'll italicize those segments to separate them from mine. Anything not italicized are my own segments or ones I edited.**

* * *

_**Saturnboy9001:** You know, Spinerette has talked a bit about a few of the differences between our universe and hers, but I wonder how different pop culture in our universe is from hers._

_**Reply from EpicNPCMan:** Dunno. Got to imagine superhero films at the very least are different in her world. I mean didn't she once say that the Fantastic Four and Tony Stark were superheroes, Captain America was Steve Rogers, and that her world's Spider-Man was more like the Spider-Woman of our world?_

_**Reply from HealingIvy:** I still can't tell what's weirder: Tony Stark being a super hero, or Captain America being a white dude._

_**Reply from GhostofMary:** Definitely the later IMO._

_**Reply from Spinerette:** You know, I could probably write a book about how different pop culture in this universe and mine old one are. I still accidentally make slip ups and reference stuff from my world that is called something different here or doesn't exist._

_**Reply from Saturnboy9001:** That's actually kind of fascinating. I'd totally pay to read that book BTW._

_**Reply from EpicNPCMan:** Any chance you could give us an example though of something different?_

_**Reply from Spinerette:** Of the top of my head is what you guys call Trek Wars. In my universe, Star Wars is this big space opera movie franchise while Star Trek is a totally separate unrelated but popular Sci-Fi TV show. In this universe though, they've somehow both been merged into one thing._

_**Reply from EpicNPCMan:** Huh. You know, not going to lie, Star Wars and Star Trek are both actually much better names than Trek Wars._

_**Reply from HealingIvy:** Is there anything that you found to be the same?_

_**Reply from Spinerette:** Funny enough, Shakespeare is probably the one thing I've found that's completely identical in this world to my own._

_**Reply from ScarletSpidey1Fan:** You read Shakespeare?_

_**Reply from Spinerette:** ... I went through a weird phase in High School._

* * *

"So how's the Spider-Cop life treating you?"

Cindy ignored Daisy's question and continued her attacks on the punching bag in front of her while the former S.H.I.E.L.D agent paced behind it. The Freak Beat was chronically underfunded but at least they had a gym and a shooting range. Apparently the people upstairs figured that the guys fighting Supervills and costumed baddies deserved somewhere to train and blow off some steam.

"Yo, asked you a question."

"I heard you."

She flipped and hit the bag with a scorpion kick. Daisy caught it before it hit the wall and whistled, "Someone's been working on their moves. Don't remember teaching you that."

"I try." Spider powers helped, though she liked to think at least some of it was from her own hard work. Ezekiel trained her for three years to be his own personal hunter (which she was pretty sure was just a fancy way of saying assassin) and, while she tried her best to suppress said training (because damn if she was going to use anything he taught her), her training with S.H.I.E.L.D had a bad habit of forcing back the muscle memory.

"So my question."

"What do you want me to say?" Daisy shoved the bag back to her and Cindy hit it with a spinning elbow, "Most days it's paperwork and being dumped cases no one wants cause the guy just happened to be wearing a domino mask." No, she still didn't go after Bodega Bandit and his gang of Banditos. She still had standards and she wasn't going to give that guy exactly what he wanted.

"I'm surprised. Thought you'd enjoy a little downtime after H.Y.D.R.A and those Skrulls."

"This isn't exactly a vacation, Des." She punched the bag straight on and winced when her fist went straight through the cloth. Oops, "Damn it..." She unhooked the leaking bag and replaced it with another from the nearby stack. A few of the other training officers stared at her, but she paid them no mind. She was used to being stared at. Even after she made friends with the rest of the beat some of them still felt wary about being so close to someone who could crush their heads like grapes.

"Ever miss working in S.H.I.E.L.D?"

Cindy snorted, "Hell no." She continued to her workout while Daisy held the bag in place. She was surprised to find the other brunette at her desk that morning but apparently she'd been assigned as a temporary assistant considering the attack on the Symkarian embassy. S.H.I.E.L.D might have been officially decommissioned, but that didn't mean they were gone. They still kept up with recent events and a (tentatively) allied nation's embassy being bombed by what was supposed to be gangsters made them stand at attention.

"So tell me one thing: why am I dealing with this?" She kicked the bag and Daisy pressed her lips together as she barely held it in place, "Gangsters assaulting an embassy is odd, I'll give you that, but my jurisdiction's powered or costumed crime, not organized." Not that she was really complaining, mind you. Bad guys were bad guys whether they were wearing dumb costumes or three piece suits.

"You're asking me? All I was told was to head over here and make sure you got headway on this."

She was about to respond before she felt a slap on her tush, "Hey, Moon, you got something on-"

Cindy spun around and wrapped her right arm around the offender's neck in a chokehold, "Masters. Just when I thought this day would actually be good." She sneered and tightened the hold. Not enough to hurt him, but enough that he'd feel the pressure, "You gonna tell me why you slapped my butt or do I have to choke harder?"

"Oh please, like you're actually offended. I've seen your dating profile." Despite his precarious position the smug bastard actually managed to snort.

"Yeah? Doesn't mean I don't have standards, and racist cops are on the top of my 'do not want' list." Right behind entitled nice guys and people who kept insisting she had to be gay cause of some stupid rumor. She loosened her grip enough for him to stumble back, gasping and grabbing at his throat, "You touch me like that again and I'll break your nose. We clear?"

"Jesus, you're high strung. Ain't like it's the first time a guy got his hands on you." Cindy raised a brow and, without warning, grabbed between his legs and squeezed before quickly letting go. The guy's wide eyed look almost made her burst into laughter, "H-Hey, what the fu-"

"What? Ain't like it's the first time a woman put their hands on you," she said, mockingly shifting her voice into a faux baritone, "Or maybe it is, in which case I am so sorry. Now seriously, leave me alone 'less you want your jewels bursting." She turned him around and slapped his tush hard before pushing him away.

Behind her, Daisy whistled, "Think you went a bit overboard there."

"Seriously? The guy just went up and slapped me in the butt. He's lucky I didn't actually squeeze that hard."

"Still, you are the only one here with superpowers. Maybe try being careful?"

"Just cause I have powers doesn't mean I won't hit back if someone hits first." Cindy scoffed. She never really bought into that 'we're stronger and thus we must be better' speech. People were people, superpowers or not. If you acted like a jerk then you don't get to complain when someone hits back, "Besides, he's been a pain in the rear since day one."

"Honestly I think he just has a crush on you."

"Yeah, sure. Totally in love." Cindy snorted again and continued her workout. So far Jean's plan to ingratiate her to the rest of the force was going well. Sure there were a few assholes like Masters or Blake, but considering the former was a prick and the latter was a _corrupt_ prick she didn't really care all that much. That and she was blackmailing Blake to spill info on his side boss.

There was a tap on her shoulder, "Swear to God, Masters-" She turned around with a fist raised and froze when she saw that the person behind her was not, in fact, Masters. The first thing she noticed was the shocking head of _silver_ hair quickly followed by the silver outfit. The man in front of her was tall, easily standing a head over Cindy herself, and the suit didn't do much to hide the muscles underneath.

"I'm sorry, I think you've mistaken me for someone else." His voice was smooth and accented with something she couldn't place. Sounded vaguely Russian.

"Yeah...sorry." She awkwardly put her hand down and stepped back, "You looking for somebody?"

"You."

"Ah...well, I'm not really open for a date right now," she snarked back. Though she had to admit he was good looking. Clean cut face, chiseled jaw and a regal hairstyle that stuck out from all the sweat soaked sad sacks (herself included) in the gym. His narrow eyes looked her up and down - appraising her - and he crossed his arms.

Daisy stepped up next to her and elbowed her in the side, "Uh, Cin, that's Silver Sablivona. You know, _Prince_ Silver Sablivona?"

"Huh...didn't think the name'd be so literal." She wasn't as impressed as she thought she'd be. Then again she'd met with the King of Asgard and touched his hammer so that was about to be expected, "Real sorry about the attack on the embassy. I wish I could've done more." She hated that she always seemed to arrive too late. It'd been a while since she got there before there were any casualties.

"Yes, well, we move on." He smiled. It was stiff and more than a little strained, "I understand that you are on the case?"

"Yeah, though I still don't exactly get why."

"I believe I can answer that, but I'd like to ask a favor first." Cindy raised a brow and silently urged him to continue, "Fight me."

"...What?"

"A sparring match, I mean. If you're to be leading the investigation then I'd like to see firsthand that you're capable, which means no holding back."

"No offense, but I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Afraid of hurting me?"

"No, more afraid of getting arrested for assaulting the prince of a country." She rolled her eyes. Wouldn't have been the first time, "Look, you can count on me and the rest of the force. We know what we're doing."

"I'd still feel more comfortable knowing exactly who's leading the case. I promise that this is a personal matter and won't involve any authorities."

"You're not gonna let this go, are you?" She sighed and cracked her neck, "Fine, don't say I didn't warn you."

They took up positions on opposite sides of the large sparring mat. Cindy pulled her hair into a ponytail while prince charming strapped on some sparring gloves. Most of the other officers stopped what they were doing to sit on the bleachers and watch. Off to the side Jean mouthed something to herself and facepalmed while Masters watched eagerly from the bleachers. Cindy responded with a rude gesture.

"Last chance. You wanna back off?" Cindy asked.

"Your move."

"Fine then."

She shot forward and aimed a punch straight for his jaw. To her surprise he easily side-stepped the blow and grabbed her outstretched wrist, "Nice one." She smirked and quickly wrenched her arm from his grip before pulling back slightly. Prince charming smirked back in turn and put his hands up, just baiting her. She shook her head and made a 'come and get me' gesture.

Cindy blocked his punch and kneed his side. The blow impacted briefly and he grabbed her leg before it could fall, "Hands off." She jumped, twisted and kicked him right at the side of the head with her other foot. Prince charming fell to the ground and quickly rolled back to put some distance between them while Jean and a few others whistled and clapped.

"Ready to give up?" Cindy asked.

"You're still holding back."

"You know people usually say that when they're _winning_, right?"

He laughed under his breath and tossed something at her feet. She was so surprised by the sudden usage of of what she'd realize soon was a flashbang that she didn't close her eyes. The bright light forced her eyes shut and she stumbled back only to get two hits to the gut and a kick to her jaw that forced her on her back.

"...Flashbangs? Seriously?" She glared up at him halfheartedly through the spots in her vision. To his credit prince charming actually did look apologetic, which was more than could be said for Masters and a couple of others who looked like Christmas came early.

He crouched down in front of her, "I did say no holding back."

"Yeah." She raised her left leg and hit him square in the back of the neck. Cindy scrambled on his back and put him in a chokehold, "Alright, so tell me. Why exactly am I working this case, Prince Sablinova?"

"Call me Silver. And as for why, I needed to make sure the people who attacked us are caught."

"So you're saying you're the reason why."

"You could say that." He pulled his head back and hit her square in the chin. It probably hurt him more than it hurt her, but it was enough for her grip to loosen which he used as a chance to flip them over and grab her right arm in a grapple, "I asked the mayor of this city to make sure that these men are a priority. He assured me that he would ensure that we would face justice."

"So we're the mayor's insurance. Great." She grabbed his arm and twisted it in turn. There was a slight crack and Cindy spun and kicked him in the chest, forcing him back to the mat. Daisy winced and looked like she was about to step in when Cindy spoke again, "Look, I'll tell you right now that if you're expecting a miracle then you're going to be disappointed. My detective skills are pretty mediocre." Pete was still the best of them on that front, which still made no sense to her. Neither he or the original Spider-Man had any detective training.

"I heard about how you saved that little boy who was kidnapped. I don't think you give yourself enough credit."

And then he pulled out two guns and aimed straight at her. She moved automatically, shooting two lines of webbing to each of his wrists. Her spin-sense was way too late to warn her when he suddenly pulled, spun and kicked her face hard enough to push her to the ground.

Alright, fine, if that was how he wanted to play it.

Cindy flipped back into a crouched position and narrowed her eyes. She forced herself to forget that this was just supposed to be a sparring match and fought like she was out in the field. Prince charming blocked the first two blows but the third crushed through his meager defense and hit him square in the chest. Cindy continued her assault and managed to kick him in the face at least three more times before he grabbed her arm and flipped her over.

She rolled back into a standing position and kicked away one of the guns pointed at her, "ICER rounds, huh?" Well, at least he wasn't pointing real bullets in her face.

"This is a sparring match, and I'd rather not kill the one leading the investigation."

"It's cute you think that." She webbed his wrist again and again he pulled her in for a spinning kick. This time she blocked the attack and used her other hand to web his foot. His eyes just barely widened when she yanked, making him crash to the mat with a painful thud. She grabbed the gun from his limp hand and pointed it straight at his forehead, "We done here?"

He held up his hands in surrender and laughed, "I believe we are."

"Good. Hope you're satisfied." She offered him the gun back which he took and used to pull himself up. He picked up the other, discarded gun while Cindy looked at her wristwatch (shut up, she still thought using phones to tell time was weird), "Shit, I gotta go."

"Another one of these 'supervillain' attacks?"

"Worse: Parent Teacher conference."

Thirty minutes later and she was sitting in the way too hot waiting room for her turn with the teacher. Thankfully it wasn't because Laura was in trouble this time. It was just the usual meet and greet where teachers pretended to smile and told you exactly where your kids (and she was just gonna ignore how she'd practically adopted Laura despite her already having a dad) messed up and how to make their jobs easier.

Okay, so she was bitter. Sue her, Mrs. Kowalski from third grade had it in for her.

As expected, at least a few of the parents wouldn't stop staring at her. Some of them whispered, wondering what she was doing here, while others (mostly the ones who looked under 30) just came up and asked for selfies and autographs. Cindy said yes, mostly because she didn't want to make a scene. Awkward enough she was here cause Shadowcat _just so happened_ to take a job that'd keep her out of the city for a day.

She planned for that. Damn her.

"God, what's taking so long?" She took a sip of her (lukewarm, cause God hated her) water and glared hatefully at the door leading to the teacher's office. The waiting room was just parents. Apparently kids had to wait somewhere else after last year's spaghetti incident. No, she had no idea what that meant. Apparently some things were just a bit too horrific to tell.

She was about to scream out something incoherently when someone asked next to her, "First time?" She looked to the side at the man who asked the question. Compared to most of the other parents he looked grungy. Dark, messy hair and a stubble that looked half shaved paired with a shirt and jeans combo that had a couple of holes in it. His sneakers were worn and caked in dried mud just to complete the ensemble.

"That obvious?" Cindy asked back with a wry smile.

"Kinda. I've been here a lot, seen everything from the nervous hopefuls to the people who just wanna get it over with.

"Yeah, well, I'm pretty new to the whole 'being a parent' thing. Kinda got roped into it." Cause lord knew Shadowcat wasn't gonna be any good at it. She much preferred being the older sister...who slept with the dad. Ugh. This family tree was hosed, and that wasn't even getting into Laura's joking(?) suggestion she marry Spider-Man.

"Sounds like there's a story there."

"Not one I wanna tell to strangers."

"Let's change that. Name's Scott." He raised a (surprisingly clean) hand towards her.

"Cindy." She shook his hand briefly before leaning back on her chair, arms crossed, "So, how many kids you got here?"

"Just the one. Cassie." He smiled in the way only proud parents could be; same way Ben did when talking about his little girls, "You?"

"Same. Laura."

"So I know this might be a bit awkward to ask, but is she really your...you know..."

"Would it change anything if she wasn't?" She raised a brow.

"No, just curious. Didn't think any of you Avengers types had kids except for Wasp."

"We don't air out everything to the public, you know." She adjusted her legs and bit back a yawn. Someone knowing who she was and talking normally was oddly refreshing, "Laura's my kid as far as I'm concerned. Doesn't matter where she came from."

"Hey, no need to get defensive. I know what you mean."

"Hmm." She looked up at the ceiling and asked, "So...any reason people are staring at you?"

"Aren't they just staring at you, Miss Famous Avenger?"

"No, I know when I'm being gawked at. This is different." She gestured to the parents who kept their distance, "You're sitting off in the corner, didn't talk to anyone but me and no one's making eye contact. What's the deal?"

"Yeah..." He scratched at the back of his head, "I...kinda have a record."

"...Wasn't touching kids, right?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

"What? No, no! Just..." He sighed, "I did a burglary a few years back. Spent some time behind bars for it and now I'm out. One of the parents here heard about it and spread it around so as far as the people here care I might as well have touched kids."

"A robbery, huh?"

"Well, technically I didn't _rob_ anyone. Robbery involves threat. I hate violence. I _burgled_ them. I'm a cat burglar."

"You sound like a lawyer." Cindy snorted, "Well, you don't have to worry about me judging you." Especially since her 'partner' was the Black Cat, "I'm surprised they let you in here. Most parents with criminal records are persona non grata in places like this."

"They needed a parent and I'm the only one who counts." He shrugged, trying just a bit too hard to be casual, "And you're one to talk. I think you gave the receptionist a heart attack when you strolled in here."

"Not my fault..." Cindy mumbled. She really didn't want to make a big deal about her relationship with Laura. Shadowcat was weird about it. She didn't want to hide how they were related but she was adamant that Laura stayed 'normal' at least till she was 18. _Give her the choice I never had,_ to use her words. So far she hadn't said anything about Laura's new partnership.

The teacher called Laura's name over the intercom, "Looks like you're up," Scott said.

"Yeah. Wish me luck."

It went...well. No more fights and no complaints apart from some worries about Laura's math grades. Laura pouted and said that math wasn't going to be useful for her future job as a superhero, but apart from that it was all good. The two of them kept true to their word and Gabbie, as Gwen's kid was being called now, kept a low profile in school and didn't help her cheat in her tests.

Of course that didn't stop the teacher from giving her the side eye the entire time. She expected it. This place was a normal high school - the most exciting thing that happened in the past decade was that still mysterious spaghetti incident. And now they had a little girl with claws and (unknown to them) a symbiote with an Avenger who acted as her mom.

She said her goodbyes to the teacher and passed Scott and his daughter on the way out, "Your turn up next?" she asked with a wry smile. The little girl excitedly started talking with Laura about something.

"Yeah. You guys?"

"We're heading out to get some ice cream."

"Oh, well, here." He rummaged through his pocket and handed her a card, "There's a Baskin-Robbins on the Supermall a few blocks down. Give em this card and tell em Scott sent you and they'll give you a discount. I'm kind of a big deal over there."

"I'm so honored." Cindy laughed under her breath and accepted it, "Thanks. Maybe I'll see you around."

First she had to spend some quality time with Laura then investigate a bunch of gangsters dabbling into international terrorism. What a day.

* * *

_**PlasmaBiteMikeyM:** You ever wonder how weird life must be like for Gwen Stacy?_

_**Reply from AsianBae4:** Who?_

_**Reply from PlasmaBiteMikeyM:** You know, Gwen Stacy. Peter Parker's old high school best friend from before he turned himself into the Lizard?_

_**Reply from Starcream519:** No offense, but why do you think her life must be weird?_

_**Reply from PlasmaBiteMikeyM:** Well think about it from her perspective. Your best friend in high school turned into a giant lizard, died, then got brought back to life with the memories of another version of himself from another universe who's a Spider themed vigilante and where it's still the 1930s or 40s. Furthermore, there are whole forums and websites in the web who for years have dedicated themselves to speculating and theorizing that your actually Spider-Woman, AND to top it all off, there are tons of fanfiction written online about you either dating Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, or in a love triangle with both._

_**Reply from Starcream519:** Ok, yeah, that is kind of weird. Especially since she's generally not really super famous or anything._

_**Reply from FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman:** Wait … there's fanfiction of me dating Gwen Stacy?_

_**Reply from MJJackpot:** Lol_

* * *

Gwen loved being a superhero. Saving people in need, putting the bad guys in prison (which were more effective by the day, despite Peter's comments) and wearing a kickass costume on top of it. Even when she was a kid she wanted to follow in her dad's footsteps despite his comments that he 'didn't want her to spend her life chasing criminals'. Cause apparently it was only cool when _he_ did it. Whatever, she was a Superhero - a bonafide Avenger - now and she loved it.

But there were times she really hated it.

It wasn't the villains that tried to make her 'rue her day', it wasn't the public that hated her for two years and now expected to be able to dictate what she could and couldn't do. It wasn't even the occasional feeling of futility she had that no matter how many criminals she put away there'd always be someone else to take their place.

No, it was seeing people at their worst. Her mom always taught her to see the best in people, to look past first impressions and think positive like she did with dad, but it was getting harder by the day. How was she supposed to feel optimistic when she couldn't go more than a couple of blocks without some punk with a switchblade trying to mug someone in some dark alley? And that's if she was lucky. Some of the others crimes she'd stopped almost made her want to stop pulling her punches.

Sure, there were people who did it because they had no choice. Some of them just wanted to feed their families or they had a lifesaving surgery they needed. So many sob stories so little time. For the most part she tried to help them. Naive, maybe, but not every purse snatcher needed a punch to the face.

And then there were people like this.

She-Hulk roped her into another guest show appearing on Catching Predators. She'd been tempted to say no first before she told her that she managed to get, on contract, a guarantee from the agency that 95% of all profits made would go to various charities helping children deal with sexual abuse.

Because as much as she preferred being out there on the streets she knew She-Hulk was right: it wouldn't be enough. She promised MJ and Peter that she'd change New York and to do that she needed to do more than just go on neighborhood patrols. She needed to help the victims live their lives and find ways to give opportunities to those who could've avoided a life of crime if they were just given a chance.

And if it meant parading around like a show host then she'd do it.

"Hey, what's up? Why don't you have a seat right over there?"

Criminals came in all shapes and sizes - young people who were just getting started on life to the ones who looked like they needed to be in a retirement home ASAP. This wasn't any different. Just today she'd met everyone from aspiring college students to old guys in their twilight years looking for another, cheap thrill. From doctors to janitors, she wasn't surprised at what she saw anymore.

"Wh-What are you doing here?"

But she still couldn't stop herself from feeling pissed off at the police officer who walked in through the door. She wasn't an idiot. She knew corrupt cops existed, her dad had enough complaints about them to last a lifetime, but that didn't mean she wasn't angry whenever she ran into them. The badge was a promise, a vow to serve and protect, and to break that made her sick. It spat in the face of her dad and everyone like him.

"Think I should be asking you that question," she snarked back, barely keeping the anger out of her tone as she hung upside down from a string of web, "Doing a routine inspection, _officer_?"

He was an older man - 49 according to what they told her - with his dark hair and mustache already growing gray. From what she gathered he was a multiple decade veteran on the force. And he was throwing it all away for this.

After that it was the same as everyone else. Denying that he planned to do anything, claiming that it was all a big misunderstanding. Gwen rode through the roller coaster of denial and justifications in the same bored manner as the rest. He had a family, he had a career, did she know how much he'd lose if this came out? Bla bla bla. She would've felt sympathetic to his cries and pleas if she wasn't so disgusted.

"You can't do this to me! Do you have any idea what they'll do to me in prison?! I won't survive a week!"

"Don't be so dramatic. I'm sure they'll have a nice cell in solitary for you to spend your stay in," she said, not even bothering to hide the distaste in her tone, "You know what they say, don't do the crime if you can't do the time. Even 5 year olds know that."

"This isn't right!" he screamed suddenly, "I'm an officer of the law! You're just some half-cocked vigilante who-"

"Isn't trying to sleep with kids," she cut him off impatiently, "This isn't an argument, Coleman. Everyone knows you sent your chicken pics to someone you thought was 12. Enjoy your stay in the bighouse."

She webbed his mouth shut followed by binding his hands together before he could argue more. She was exhausted, but she kept reminding herself this was for a good cause. One day of staring at gross messages and dick pics meant kids who got proper therapy and medication for their trauma. She'd take it.

A few hours later and she'd finally finished. Gwen ignored all the thank yous and congratulations of the staff and headed to the back room to cool off, "A fine performance out there." She held back a huge grimace and forced a smile on her face (didn't matter if no one could see under the mask, Cindy made it clear it was crucial) when she turned to Roxxon. Roxxon who definitely wasn't supposed to be here, "I think you'd make a fine star."

"Heh, thanks." She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, "How'd you know I'd be here?"

"I have my ways." Meaning he was stalking her. Great, like she didn't have enough nightmares already, "I wished to talk with you."

"What about?"

"Your latest 'team-up' with Spider-Man a few days prior." Roxxon said his name the same way anyone else would say dog turds. Gwen bit her tongue to keep from saying something she'd regret, "I was under the assumption that you two had...separated."

"We are," she said, doing her best to keep her voice neutral, "Like I told Boomerang I came because he was putting those people in danger. As much as I hate Spider-Man I'm not going to let that stop me from doing my job."

"I see. So if he were in danger by himself you would not come to his aid?" Oh, and how gleeful he looked at that. Gwen was torn between punching him in the jaw or chucking him out of the building entirely. It'd be one thing if he was just a supervill who wanted to get rid of an obstacle; that way it wouldn't have been personal. But no, he did all this because of some crazy crush he had on her. Every time someone tried to gun for Peter and put other people in danger a part of her blamed herself.

"Hell no." Gwen snorted. She hoped it sounded genuine, "Can you keep a secret?"

"Of course." Gwen internally rolled her eyes. His eagerness creeped her the hell out.

"Cap wants me to keep an eye on him. As much of a pain ass he can be she thinks he can be useful. Apparently stopping a demon gets you some leeway."

"You do not agree?"

"No. So he stops a big ugly tick, woo hoo. If I wasn't busy dealing with Moon I could've done that. Hell, I'm sure _you_ could've done it with less drama."

"You flatter me, Spider-Woman, but I do think you have a tad too much faith in me." Ah, false modesty. Her favorite.

"Really if someone got rid of him it'd make my life way easier. That way I wouldn't have to pull babysitting duty." Yes, she was being stupidly blunt, but at this point it was obvious the guy was so blinded wanting to see under the spandex that he wouldn't catch on, "I just wish he'd keep this bounty shit to himself. I'm sick of him putting everyone else in danger because he can't handle his own issues."

"Quite so." He nodded, "To change the subject, I'm attending a get together in a few days time. Would it trouble you to attend?"

"Of course not. Just give me a time and place." Now for the next part of her bid. She pulled a (spare) phone out of her pocket and made a show of opening the screen, "You said you could keep a secret, so I'm going to trust you with something else. Gimme your phone and I'll put in my contacts. This is for my personal phone so whatever you do do _not _show it to anyone else, okay?"

"Of course. You can trust me." The fact that he could say that with a smile on her face made her sick.

Gwen quickly said her goodbyes before she could vomit out her lunch and swung back to her house in Queens. She was supposed to meet with Jess, Kate and her dad to see if they could dig up anything on the 'gentleman's club' - which, appropriately enough, was called exactly that - that could help her. Or maybe get her out of going in entirely. She could always hope.

She'd shifted back into her casuals and walked the rest of the way home. It didn't take her long to spot Jess arguing with someone near the front porch, "Do you have any idea how many rules you've violated since you moved in here?" The woman, an older redhead with plastic looking smile and an even more plastic looking face, asked.

"About as many pieces your face is gonna be in if you don't back off," Jessica asked.

"Woah, woah! Let's calm it down a notch!" Gwen pulled Jessica back before she could do something she'd regret, "What's going on here?"

"Ah, Ms. Stacy. Nothing, we're simply discussing-"

"She's trying to find an excuse to kick me out. Again." Jessica's expression made it clear she was clearly done with this shit, "Cause she doesn't like a freak like me walking around in her perfect neighborhood."

"Wrong. I was simply telling you that you need to follow the rules that everyone else obeys."

"You've been on me since I picked up the back of George's car so I could grab the keys I dropped. What, is there some rule in that little guidebook of yours against lifting cars?" She sneered, "Listen, you old bitch, you're not the first power tripping hag I've had to deal with. You don't like me? Tough shit, I don't like you either. Now get out of here before I call the cops for trespassing."

The woman glared but said nothing as she walked back to her house. Jessica cursed under her breath while Gwen clapped her on the shoulder comfortingly, "You okay?"

"Yeah, just...she pisses the hell out of me. If it's not her getting weird about me being a freak it's her making stupid comments about me and George cause he's 'so much older than me'," she said the last part in a mocking falsetto, "This is the reason why I didn't want to move in here. Least back at my place everyone minded their own damn business."

"...Your floorboards were literally coming apart."

"And no one peeked." She finally smiled and nudged her head to the door, "Come on, Kate and George are inside."

Kate and her dad were sat around the living room table with Helena lying down on her crib. Webster immediately plopped out of her and slithered over to the lying baby, who immediately laughed and play wrestled with her, "Hey guys, sorry I'm late." She sat down between Kate and her dad.

"Have fun busting internet perverts?" Kate asked with a grin.

"Oh yeah, had the time of my life." Gwen rolled her eyes and looked at the scattered papers, "You guys dig up anything on the GC?"

"Not much." Jess sat across from her, "Had a couple of cases in the past there. Place is your typical dive, and they even got their liquor license up to date. Trust me that's something you're never gonna see."

"No crimes in the area either," her dad said, "I asked a favor from an old friend to look up some case files. Some gangsters are known to frequent the establishment but we don't have any actual proof that the place itself is connected to any illegal activities."

"Except for some of the strippers pulling double duty as sex workers, you mean," Kate added, "Did my own investigating. Apparently there's a room in the back for some of the VIP clients. Private dances, supposedly, but it doesn't take a genius to figure that's innuendo. The guy you and MJ are investigating, one Frankie Bianchi, is one of those VIPs. So...yeah."

An awkward silence hung in the air. She'd told them a few days ago what she and MJ were going to do and they didn't take it well. Jessica suggested just dangling Frankie off the nearest building till he caved while Kate actually offered to take her place to spare her dignity; apparently she forgot that she was as well-known as Cindy was at this point and there was no chance in hell it'd work.

And her dad? Hoo boy he looked like his head was gonna burst.

"Are you sure there's no other way?" Her dad asked for the nth time that weak, "I could ask for more case files, see if we can make something stick."

"Cindy doesn't want to just haul this guy in. He needs to think he's in control and the best way we can do that is...well, this." Her dad still looked skeptical. Gwen sighed, "I don't like it either, dad, but I owe Cindy a lot and it's either this or letting MJ go it alone. And I _really_ don't wanna let her in there by herself." Mostly for both her and the criminals' sakes.

"I shall try my best to make this experience less embarassing for the both of us," Webster said from the crib.

"Yeah, thanks Webs..."

She walked to the kitchen and called MJ, "Hey, I'm heading over to the club. You ready?"

"Uh, yeah, I'll be there in a bit."

"Is something wrong?" Gwen's brows furrowed worriedly.

"It's nothing, just..." She let out a slow breath, "I'm kind of on a date right now and it's not going well. Trying to salvage it."

"You're dating again?" Gwen found herself smiling. As torn as she was about MJ's new views on everything one thing she was glad about was how better off MJ was. It'd only been a few days and already she felt like she was seeing the old MJ again.

"Yeah, don't make a big deal out of it." She laughed under her breath, "Oh, don't forget we've got band practice this Friday."

"Says the girl whose been late the past six times while I've been on time?" Gwen asked back with a smirk. Oh how the tables had turned.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll see you later, Gwencent."

Gwen said her goodbyes to the rest and swung to the address Cindy texted her. She landed on a nearby rooftop and, after making sure no one was looking, shifted into her 'uniform' and changed her face before jumping down to the alley that led to the back entrance, **'I've changed your voice as well, Gwen. You are unrecognizable.' **

_'God, I hope so.' _She knocked on the door and the door slit opened to a narrowed pair of eyes, "H-Hey, the name's Traci. I'm the new girl?" She smiled, which she was sure looked fake as all hell. Thankfully no one came to this kind of place to look at your smile, "C-Could you let me in? It's kinda cold out here."

The slit closed with a loud smack before the bouncer opened it slowly. He looked down at her with an unreadable gaze, "...You know there are changing rooms inside, right?" he asked, the very voice of someone who'd seen too much shit to care.

"W-Well, I missed laundry day." Gwen laughed. It sounded like she was choking, "So...can I come in."

Bouncer guy shook his head and stepped aside without a word. Gwen scurried- _strode confidently_ inside and kept her head held up high. Already she smelled the unmistakable mix of alcohol, body oil and other...fluids that permeated the air. The superhero suppressed a shudder and thanked small mercies that her powers made walking in the heels manageable, even if they were torture devices made by the patriarchy.

It didn't take long for her name to be called.

"Alright guys we've got a new face joining us tonight. Give it up for Traci."

Gwen took a deep breath and stepped through the curtains. It was now or never.

* * *

_**GeeksRUs:** I just realized something weird... If where that other Spider-Man comes from, WW2 just started, does that mean there's a universe where Hitler is still alive?_

_**Reply from DynamiteJim336:** Wasn't that kind of always assumed?_

_**Reply from GeeksRUs:** I guess? It's just weird to think that there's someplace out there where that short mustached murder is still breathing._

_**Reply from DynamiteJim336:** Okay and? No offense, but what exactly do you think we are supposed to do about it?_

_**Reply from GeeksRUs:** I mean, we could always call the Avengers to go over there and kick Hitler and the Nazi's ass?_

**Reply from FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman:** Look, as much as I'm all for the idea of saving millions of innocent people and punching Hitler in the face it's not possible right now. 1 portal tech is risky and we could end up trapped in a zombie dimension or something and 2 even with all of the Avengers it'd take months to stop something as big as WW2. I don't like the idea of leaving this place for months after what happened with H.Y.D.R.A and the Skrulls.

**Reply from Yuki Tash: **That and it opens up a whole 'nother can of worms. Like if we can send the Avengers to do that what's stopping us from sending them over to North Korea to take those guys down?

**Reply from DynamiteJim336: **The Avengers aren't part of the army, remember?

**Reply from Argonian Ale: **Well why aren't they? Seriously have you seen some of the videos of them fighting? Apart from **Hawkeye** every Avenger is a One Man Army.

**Reply from the salt lord: **Screw the Avengers, just look at this vid of **Spider-Man - embedded video- **Dude just took out an entire platoon of insurgents and a _tank _with a one rifle and a grenade. Some of the Gifted would make soldiers a joke.

**Reply from Argonian Ale: **Holy shit, was that when he went to South Africa? Damn!

**Reply from FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman:** I've got comments like this before and I'll say it again: I am _not_ joining the military of any kind. I know Cap and many other people did and all the power to them but that's not what I want to do with my life. Stopping the bad guys and protecting people _here_ is what I love. And honestly I just don't want to get into politics. Hero work is simple and I like it that way.

* * *

Peter remembered those first days after his identity had been revealed. Having to slink between alleys because every paparazzi in the city wanted a pic of his face, getting attacked by the police because Jameson needed someone to rant about. Back then he'd all but given up. He was ready to leave everyone behind because he didn't know what else he could do.

But then Gwen made her plea and people...tolerated him. Some of them actually accepted him, but that creeped him out more than the silent judgement. Asking for his autograph, asking to take pictures with him. Back then he expected an attack from every corner.

Now that people knew he was a kid again it was ten times worse.

"Get him! He's just a fucking kid!"

Peter smashed the Lantern's head against the ground and dodged the next barrage of gunfire. Some people thought that just cause he was smaller now it meant he suddenly wasn't dangerous. Nevermind that they saw him take down that crazy brat Kaboom or the fact that he nearly killed that Hobgoblin bastard - who, incidentally, Gwen didn't believe was the Hobgoblin she was after. Apparently he had a habit of using body doubles.

He cloaked and tackled the Lantern with the machine gun before punching him in the throat. Moon Knight told him about the facility. Another Lantern meeting ground. This time the chuckleheads were actually planning to break Jack out of prison. He wasn't worried. Any of them got near that high tech Alcatraz and they'd get shot if they were lucky. If they weren't lucky they'd end up an inch tall.

Didn't mean he'd let them try, though.

He flipped and kicked another Lantern straight up the jaw and webbed him to the wall. The sooner he dealt with Gao the sooner these clowns stopped getting their guns. Idiots with firearms were still dangerous, from stupidity if nothing else.

"F-Fuck this, I ain't gettin' taken down by Spider-Kid!"

This was the second thought. For most criminals being taken down by one of the freak heroes and vigilantes was nothing special. Hell, some of em took it as a point of pride. That Bodega Bandit mook though Gwen taking 5 minutes off to drop him at his dumpster gave him street cred and at least a few people thought surviving a fight with him, win or lose, was something to be proud of.

Of course, no one thought the same now that he was a kid. Now it was a mark of shame.

Peter sighed in frustration and chased after the the last, fleeing Lantern. He knew a lot of criminals were scared of him - and he didn't do anything to discourage that fear - but there something degrading about them running because they thought they deserved a beatdown by someone better. Like he wasn't good enough to send them behinds to the slammer so they had to find someone more respectable.

The Lantern stopped at the end of the hall in front of a large window. Peter grit his teeth and tackled him through the glass. The green-suited coward screamed and flailed till Peter attached one end of a webline to his legs and the other to a nearby light post, leaving him to hang upside down with his head inches from the asphalt.

Peter rolled as he landed and ignored the slight pain from the impact. Shallow, nothing a quick nap wouldn't fix, "That's the last of them..." He stood back up and winced at the gawking pedestrians, some of whom were already taking pictures. Never understood the obsession with saving images here. Everyone and their grandma did it and thought they were the only ones.

"Y-You can't stop us!" The hanging Lantern screamed, trying to salvage what little dignity he had left, "The Jack-o-Lantern gang'll set this city on fire! You'll-"

Peter webbed his mouth shut and frowned at the sound of sirens in the air. He called the cops earlier to pick up the trash but he didn't think they'd arrive so soon. Time to make an exit.

Before he could disappear into smoke again a couple of women who looked to be in their 30's walked up to him, "Could we take a picture? Like, without the mask?" the blonde woman to his left asked.

"...What?" He stared up at them blankly.

"A souvenir picture, except without the mask," The one to his right, a short haired brunette, said, "Come on, people already saw your face a few days ago! What's the harm?"

He was so tempted to tell them off and disappear before he remembered his promise to Gwen. He told her he'd play nice - _within reason_ \- to any of his...fans. He didn't like it, but life would be easier if he only had to watch out for criminals and didn't have to worry about people calling the cops just cause they saw him walking down the street. That and maybe the boys in blue would cut him some slack, especially now that he and Gwen were 'broken up'.

And it'd make life easier for her when they got back together. He knew the effect he had on her reputation and, much as he hated to admit it, a few pictures were worth mitigating that damage.

He took off his mask and the two women excitedly took their pictures, "Oh, you're so cute!" The blonde ruffled his hair affectionately while Peter internally cringed. This was his life now.

Of course, a few pictures was enough to open the floodgates. As soon as the women were far enough the entire crowd homed in around him asking for pictures or signatures and the like. Peter played along even as his patience slowly wore thin. Gwen was going to _owe_ him for this.

There were even a couple of parents who let their kids stand next to him take pictures. At least that one made him laugh since the second girl, who couldn't have been older than 9, stomped her feet and cried that she preferred Moon Knight.

This place really was a Madhouse.

Eventually his patience did eventually run out and he snuck away before another threesome could ask him to make a pose. He waited till he was at a far enough alley before he pressed his back against the wall and let himself slide down. He'd just stopped a group of psycho wannabes from trying to break out their leader and yet he felt more exhausted taking pictures afterwards.

"Bad day?"

Peter's lips curled up in a wry smile and he looked up to his right at the new arrival, "Teresa." She didn't look much different from when he saw her last.

His older sister smiled back and stood next to him with her back against the wall, her arms crossed, "What, that's all you have to say after we've finally seen each other after a whole year?"

"You're right, where are my manners. How was the civil war you tried to fix?"

"Mostly dealt with. There's a new monarch on the throne and he's making moves to turn Latveria into an elective monarchy. I'll give it a few years, see if I have to come back." She chuckled softly and offered him a hand. Peter took it and she pulled him into a soft embrace, "It's good to see you again, brother."

"Can't believe I'm saying this, but same." He tried to ignore how awkward the gesture was given their current height difference, "You been to see Lana?"

They separated, "Not yet. I figured I would help you with your current predicament before I went to her." She put her hands in her coat pockets and looked down at him, her smile suddenly somber, "Before we fix you could we go somewhere first?"

"...Sure."

She took him to the playground near Gwen's house. It was already nighttime so the streets were, as always, eerily empty. Teresa hummed softly and sat on one of the two swings while Peter took the other, "It feels odd, being back here in New York," she said eventually, "I was only ever supposed to stay here in order to help fight the Hand. I never expected to be back after the Beast was slain."

"Then why'd you leave your little apprentice behind. Anya, wasn't it?"

"I thought she deserved a chance to make her own choices, without the Spider Society hanging over her head. The others complained, of course, but I'm Madame Web. They can't force me to do anything."

"If you say so." He lightly gripped the chains on both sides of him, "So...what are your plans after this? Leaving New York again?"

"...I don't know."

"That's something I never thought I'd hear you say."

"Haha." She laughed flatly, "It's truth, though. You made another deal with The Pariah so you know it, don't you? Something's coming. Something that made your patron scared enough that it was willing to give just a little more to its hunter."

"Didn't seem scared to me..."

"Whatever is coming is the reason Cassandra passed her role onto me. I'll admit I didn't expect for it to come so soon. After this, assuming I survive...I don't what I'll do then. I'd spent so long fighting the Hand and preparing for my role that I never thought what would come after."

"So you don't know what you're supposed to do? My heart bleeds." He gave a single, soft laugh, "Isn't that what you wanted? A life where your choices aren't pre-destined like some kind of puppet on a string."

"...You're right. It's just the nerves talking." She dragged her booted feet across the ground and looked at him, "I wish I could see you."

"Where's this coming from?"

She suddenly stood behind him and, without any warning, pushed the swing. To anyone outside looking in it would've looked sweet - just family spending some time playing at the park. But there were no cheers or cries of laughter, just the twisting of the chains and the sounds of his shoes scraping dirt.

"We never got a chance to be a family." She held onto the chains, "After mom and dad died S.H.I.E.L.D essentially adopted me. I did try to visit for those first few years, but they kept denying me and eventually I stopped. I...really do wish I had a chance to see you grow up. Even now when you look like this I don't know what you look like. Sometimes it feels as if our patrons are playing a cruel joke."

Without a word Peter stood in front of her and placed both her hands on his face. She didn't say anything, just let her fingers trace across the length of his face. It was funny. Even now he didn't think of her as a sister. They'd lost too much time and the roles they planed to one another made feeling like a family impossible for him. This was the only thing he could do for her.

"...We should probably fix me," Peter mumbled eventually.

"Hm." She nodded and pulled her hands back, "I have to warn you first. This method we'll use to return you to normal, it has its drawbacks."

"Of course it does..." He sighed.

"Your gifts will be...dampened due to the transition. We'll need to loosen your bonds to the Pariah in order to return your body back to its previous state. I'm afraid this is the only method I know."

"Great. Just how 'dampened' are we talking here?"

"I suspect your gifts will be weakened if not wholly negated, at least for a time. Your sixth sense should remain, however. That can never be taken from you."

"So reassuring." He rolled his eyes, "Come on then, lets get this over with."

She led him back to Ben and May's house. Even now, a year after they left, the house was still empty. So far no one bothered to sell it and so here it remained, a permanent reminder of Jack's victory.

"This should give us some privacy." Teresa walked to the empty living room and traced her hand along the ground, "I'll prepare what we need for the ritual. Calm yourself and and be patient."

She cut her thumb and pointer finger with a knife and started tracing a symbol across the length of the wood. Peter watched silently, ignoring the pounding in his skull and the feel of a sudden weight on his head. She was drawing the symbol of Anansi.

Teresa cut both his palms, "Kneel in the center and keep your eyes closed no matter what." He did just that and closed his eyes as she drew something on his forehead. The pounding became painful and he heard loud, deafening laughter on both sides of him. Peter grit his teeth and stubbornly kept his eyelids shut as Teresa started chanting something he couldn't make out.

The next thing he knew he was on the ground with a splitting headache. Peter groaned softly and pulled himself up into a shaky stand, trying to ignore the blurriness in his vision, "Teresa..." His voice. It sounded different. Normal again. He looked to the closest mirror and laughed at his reflection. Back to normal.

...And he was naked.

"You should probably change into some clothes before anyone sees you." He turned back and found Teresa looking at him with a wry smirk. He almost covered himself before he remembered exactly who he was talking to, "Got you some spares. Change quick."

"Thanks..."

"By the way, Cindy called while you were out. Said she needed your help with an investigation. Something about people suddenly dying of drug overdose mid interrogation."

"Sure." He shook his head to wipe away the dizziness and finished changing. Time to get back to work.

* * *

**ForFaith: Spider-Man **I need to ask you an important question. Please respond.

_**SpiderWomanMadeMeDoThis has changed his name to DarkSpider**_

**Reply from DarkSpider: **What is it?

**Reply from ForFaith: **We've experienced some tragedy in our lives recently and I thought I'd ask. What was the afterlife like?

**Reply from DarkSpider: **Why would you ask me that?

**Reply from ForFaith: **My daughter just lost her favorite uncle and now she's grieving. I thought that maybe I could help her.

**Reply from DarkSpider: **By telling her what's on the other side? Listen, I'm the wrong person to ask this.

**Reply from ForFaith: **But you came back! Twice!

**Reply from DarkSpider: **I don't remember anything from the first time, especially considering how scrambled my head was, and the second time. The second time the guy who gave me my powers put me in some kind of loop. If you want me to tell you about Heaven then you're out of luck. Besides, I'm not even sure I'll ever get to see up top.

**Reply from ForFaith: **So..there's no chance he could come back?

**Reply from DarkSpider: **I'm not an expert, lady. Sorry. Good luck with your family and just cherish the time you have now. Never know when it could be taken from you.

* * *

**This plot was mostly setup, but at least Noir's back to normal and Gwen's made some leeway into her Roxxon plot. And going off to dance at a strip club with MJ. Great.**

**As for Cindy, she now has to prospective love interests. One one side we have the rebel prince of Symkaria trying to free his country, Silver Sablinova. On the other the former burglar single dad working at Baskin Robbins, Scott Lang. Truly a difficult choice as both are equally appealing :P ****Not sure if Lana will have love interests or she'll be more focused on her friendships. **

**Really debating whether to shift to an M rating considering the upcoming film noir investigation plot with Noir and Cindy/MJ and Gwen's strip club segments. I mean I've done alright so far with a T rating but I wonder how far I can push it.**

**1\. Just the one question, would you guys be interested in a prison segment? I'm considering writing one for Noir and the rest of the Defenders being sentenced to the Raft and having to survive for however long they need to before they can escape/the other heroes get them out. It'd be very Watchmen-esque, especially given the personalities in play.**

**Review Answers:**

**Medkid - Yeah...I think he's too obsessed with Gwen.**

**Henchman213 - Ehh, I think Cindy and Scott Lang would count if we were going for Ivy and Kite.**

**Yami666x - I'll say it once and I'll say it again: No, his powers are incompatible with symbiotes.**

**Brave2000 - Still don't know if DD is trapped in Earth-65 (done it before) or Gwen is stuck in 616. **

**titan616 - The twitter segments are getting harder to write for me. As for Gwen, yeah, she really needs to up her game. We see her trying a bit more in this chapter when she makes show appearances. While she dislikes it and finds it somewhat degrading the charity benefits means she can do more than just punching purse snatchers. Gwen takes a more active role later in inciting change.**

**Ruest - I think the best way to describe the difference between the two if is they were offered, say, Superman's powers. Gwen would accept on the basis that it would allow her to do more good on a global scale and achieve her goals of greater peace. By contrast Peter would reject it both because he's used to being on the streets and gutters and also he just doesn't trust himself with more power than he already has.**

**Looking at this scenario we can't really say Gwen seeking power is immoral or wrong and Peter can be seen as wasteful for preferring to stick to his gutter beatdowns due to sheer cynicism. I'd argue Gwen isn't more dangerous but rather she has more wide reaching goals compared to the anti-heroes who are just fine being street murderers for the rest of their lives.**

**Paul Garros - Gwen has the most POV's alongside Peter, so I dunno where that's coming from. Granted her struggle is less personal than Peter but it fits her character. She's a hero who stops villains; her main personal issues are with her loved ones, not the bad guys who want to take her out. Hobgoblin could change that, though.**


	36. EXTRA - Spider-Dad Noir

**So I felt bored and decided to do that single dad Noir idea based heavily on Bioshock Infinite. Wrote it up in a couple of hours so it's not my best work, but here it is anyway for those who want to read.**

* * *

_"Why do you tremble, little man? My bite brings death only to those of evil intent. I will bestow upon you a greater torment...the curse of __power__."_

Peter sat up on his seat with a flurry of coughs and bit back the bile that rose to his throat. That dream again - the same damn dream he'd been having for the past couple of months since that night at the docks. He leaned back on the old leather recliner and closed his eyes. Always woke up with a headache after seeing that damn thing's ugly mug.

He took slow, deep breaths before eventually opening them again to the sight of his dingy office. The place was small, barely large enough to fit the desk and meager furnishings he could afford. No bed, barely any light (and the night sky outside didn't help) and a desk filled with messy papers and bottles of whiskey and an ashtray with so many cigarettes it looked like a jumped up porcupine.

Wasn't a place for anyone to live, but he'd seen and lived through worse. And it was cheap.

Shaking his head, he grabbed one of the half-emptied whiskey bottles and drunk it all in one desperate gulp. Prohibition barely ended a year ago and even now people drank like it was the end of days. Or maybe it was just the holidays. His eyes blearily turned to the small calendar at his desk. 5 days till Christmas. Just the right time for people to start excusing the things they did. Well, even more than usual.

He slammed the bottle down and closed his eyes again. Booze was the only thing that culd stop the dreams, at least for a while. He checked the time on the wall mounted clock and frowned. Half an hour past 7 PM and no clients all day. Rent was coming up and as sympathetic as Mrs. Millburn was she ran a business. One more late payment and they'd be out on the streets, no exceptions.

He was about to get up and check in on the other room when there was a knock on the door. Whoever was on the other side didn't even bother to wait for a response before she strolled in like she owned the place.

"Sure, come on in..." he muttered. She was an older woman, and well-to-do one by the looks of her. A pristine white coat, a beige scarf and well maintained boots. He couldn't see her face in the dark.

"The sign said you were open." She stopped close to the the side window and faced outside, masking her features in shadow. Peter shook his head and ignored the pounding in his skull. The light streaming in from the ajar door didn't help any, "Besides, you don't look the sort to turn down any work." She gestured idly to the filled desk and shabby floorboards.

"Guess not." He coughed one last time and stood, "What do you need, then?"

"How about we start with a light?"

He walked towards her and she turned to him with practiced ease when he flicked his lighter. Peter pursed his lips and made sure to mask his expression when she grabbed the hand holding onto it and guided it towards the tip of the cigarette, finally illuminating her face for him to see. Her hair was an odd color. Silver blonde and done up in fancy curls. Definitely not someone who lived around here. Too pretty to be anyone but a visitor.

"You got a name, miss?"

"Felicia." She blew a small plume of smoke through crimson painted lips and regarded him with an easy smile, "I've heard good things about you."

"Really?" he asked back dryly.

"Yes. Apparently you have a knack for finding things no one else could." The pounding came back. His sixth sense was a mixed blessing at the best of days. Helped him weed out the liars from the honest joes but it didn't help his sleep much, "I've exhausted every other detective in this and I'm desperate."

"From my experience most of the people who come through that door are." He took a cigarette of his own and quickly lit it, "Why don't you take a seat? Tell me what you need me to do."

He closed the door leading out before taking a seat across from her. She didn't look at him at first, her eyes focusing on the surface of his messy desk and her lips curled into a barely noticeable frown. She wasn't the first one to be disappointed. His work spoke for itself but at least some people thought he just got lucky. After all, who'd trust a teenager who was drinking cheap hooch so he could sleep?

"Who do you want me to find?" With the dames it was almost always a cheating husband. Or someone who ran off with all the money or their kids. Didn't matter. Always a sad story in this line of work.

She pulled a photo out of her pocket and handed it to him. An older man, probably in his 30's or 40's, wearing a shabby coat and hat, "His name's Phil Urich," she said, "He's an old friend of mine. He was supposed to visit me a month ago. I went to his apartment and there wasn't any trace of him."

"Anything out of the ordinary?"

"Nothing. Clothes were still there, door was locked, place looks as good as it normally did." She took a long drag of the cigarette, "At first I thought he was just following up on a scoop. He does that sometimes."

"A reporter?"

"Mhm. He works at the Bugle." His hands clenched tightly. He knew the Bugle all too well, "Sometimes he takes a couple of days to go investigate, but nothing like this. A week in was when I got worried."

"Did you go the cops?"

"Yes, and they were about as helpful as you'd expect." She scoffed, finally letting the placid mask slip for just a second, "No sign of foul play so they think he just went on vacation without telling anyone. Doesn't help that he's a reporter. Police aren't exactly fond of snoops." He could sympathize there. His own relationship with the padfoots wasn't exactly the warm and caring type.

"Every detective I've hired has turned up with nothing." There was that buzzing again. She wasn't telling him the whole story, "Truth be told you're my last resort. If the 'Miracle detective of Queens' can't find him then that's it, whoever took him is gone."

"You suspect foul play. Why? Did this Urich guy have any enemies?"

For the first time since their conversation she hesitated, "He's a reporter. They tend to make lots of enemies." His sixth sense buzzed lightly. Technically the truth, but she was holding something back. She knew, but she wasn't going to tell him, "I heard you're not afraid of ruffling a few feathers."

"You could say that." Being an open socialist tended to rub certain people the wrong way. That and his other little secret, "I can take care of myself, so that's not going to be an issue. First things first. It's been a month, so you know-"

"That he might not even be alive? I'm well aware." Another drag, "I know finding him alive's about as likely as a woman governor, but I'm hoping you're as good as they say you are. If he's really gone then I'll pay for the names of the bastards who took him." There was something in her eyes. Anger and resolve but also a hint of resignation. She knew this wasn't going to end well no matter what.

"If you say so..." He took one last drag of his cigarette then stabbed it into the ashtray, "Let's discuss payment." As much as he hated to admit it the life of a private investigator didn't pay much, least for him. Most of his clients could barely string two coppers together and, as Mrs. Millgram said, he had a habit of taking on charity cases. Something she put down to his socialist roots.

"I'll give you 30 dollars every day plus expenses. You get a bonus when you find him."

Peter raised a brow, "That's pretty generous of you."

"In my experience money's the best motivator. And..." Her eyes flicked to the only other door in the office and he barely kept himself from growling out a warning at her, "Nevermind. Do you agree?"

"More than." She stubbed out her own cigarette and handed him the bills along with the addresses for Urich's apartment and the Bugle. They felt heavy in his hand, "Is there someplace I can meet you if I find anything?"

"I own nightclub not too far from here. The Black Cat."

"Yeah, I've heard of it." Never actually went, though. He could barely afford the roof over their heads and the booze that let him sleep. Last thing he needed was to throw more long green out, "Fine. I'll meet you there." Never seen a female nightclub owner before. Least it explained the scratch she was throwing around.

She nodded and walked out without another word. Peter looked down at the bills in his hand and let out a soft breath. This'd keep a roof over their head for at least a few months. Maybe even make this rat's nest look halfway livable.

He walked to the tightly closed door and opened it quietly. The room on the other end was even more sparse than his own. Nothing but a crib, a basket full of supplies and old, hand-me-down cloth on the ground that belonged to his own dad. Peter took a deep breath and walked to the crib, each step heavier than the last.

"Hey Peni... "

The baby girl looked up at him with wide, brown eyes and reached out a hand towards him. Peter smiled faintly and reached out his right pointer finger towards her, which she grabbed in a loose grip. She didn't laugh or cry when he picked her up. She was always a quiet kid. Didn't make much noise unless she was hungry or needed changing. A quiet kid, a small kid...

_His_ kid.

She was a mistake; at least that's what most everyone who knew her thought. A half-breed bastard, an accident born from one night of passion. Yuri wasn't the mothering type. Wasn't much for anything outside of her job at the Bugle, and even that was shaky. Jameson was the only one who didn't laugh out a foreign dame who wanted to be a reporter. Now he wondered if he should've. Least then she'd still be here.

_"Get out here, kid, or your gonna be picking up pieces o' your dame off the floor!"_

_"Don't! Just run, Peter! Just-"_

_*Bang*_

His hold on the infant tightened and he hugged her close. Those damn docks. Same place he got bitten, same place Yuri got careless and Osborn's enforcers caught her. He replayed that scene in his head night after night. If only he'd been faster, braver, maybe she'd still be here.

He didn't know why Yuri kept her. Like he said she wasn't the mothering type and he halfway expected her to tell him she was getting an abortion as soon as she spilled the news. She'd said it casually one day and smiled at the fish mouthed gape she gave her. She wasn't that much older than him at the time - 21 to his 18 - but she always looked like she was in control. Like nothing could phase her.

Maybe that was why he was drawn to her. The first time he'd met her it was when she saved him and May from Osborn's enforcers. Ox hit him the gut and Fancy Dan had his aunt wrapped up like a stuck pig. She flashed her camera and said it'd go on the papers tomorrow if they didn't let them go. Ox growled about a woman threatening him but she just smiled till they slunk off.

That was the start of it. At first he told himself he just wanted to pay her back, but now here he was over a year later. A freak with nightmares and an infant he could barely afford to keep. He didn't tell May and Mary Jane. How could he? Having an affair with an older dame and watching her brains get blown out in front of him before being saddled with their bastard. He didn't know if they'd pity or hate him.

"Come on, let's see if Mrs. Millburn's still got some patience left." He swaddled her in what clothes he could manage then grabbed his coat and mask. Couldn't exactly take her with him and leaving her alone here wasn't an option. Mrs. Millburn babysat sometimes, mostly when she had enough to pity him that day. Hopefully the prospect of future payments would help out here.

He knocked on the door next to his with his spare hand, "Yes?" She asked as soon as the door opened, a sour expression on her face. Mrs. Millburn wasn't young by any means. Her children were long gone and ownership of the apartment went to her after her husband died a couple of years ago. The only reason besides pity she put up with him was because Peni reminded her of her younger years.

"Got a job. Could you..."

She crossed her arms over her chest, "Another charity case?"

"Not this time." He set Peni against his shoulder and flashed her twenty dollars. Her eyes widened in surprise; it was more money than she'd seen from him in months, "Got a rich client today, wants me to track an old friend of hers." He put it on the nearby table.

"Finally putting your skills to good use." She harrumphed and took the baby from his hands. Much as he hated to admit it she made it look easier than he ever did in the months he'd cared for her, "You know you still have-"

"Don't worry. She said she's giving me a 30 dollars a day plus a bonus if I find who she's looking for." Or whatever was left of him, "...Listen, I really appreciate this-"

"Save your thanks. Just remember what's more important. Charity cases might make you feel like a saint but it doesn't put food in her mouth." Peter's mouth twitched slightly. It wasn't the first time she'd given him that lecture and it wouldn't be the last. He couldn't disagree with her, not really. Even May and Ben had a hard time keeping the three of them afloat sometimes when they helped out their neighbors. No one ever said being a socialist was easy.

"Well...thanks anyway." He kissed Peni's forehead then made his way to the roof. The cold, winter air hit him as soon as he opened the door and he sunk lower into his coat. The coat was old and crudely stitched together. It was one of the few things he managed to take from his home before he ran away with Peni. That and the mask and the revolver strapped to his hip.

Peter walked to the edge of the roof and took a deep breath. New York at night - his usual playground. He put on the mask and jumped. Time for the Spider-Man to come out.

* * *

**Someone before posted an idea of Peni being a steampunk tech character born to Noir and Yuri Watanabe so I based that on this. Might make a segment of an older (9-13 year old) Peni trying to be a hero in this time period and help her dad if people want it. Either that or the idea from a few months back where Comics!Peni and Movie!Peni are siblings and trying to deal with being sisters despite the strain the former's work puts on her.**

**Anyway, this segment's more focused on Noir dealing with being Spider-Man while also having to take care of a child; particularly due to his young age. Readers of Looking Glass seemed to like the story beats focusing on Noir being a dad to Laura so I figured why not. That and dealing with criminal conspiracies and not knowing who he can trust among everyone telling him half truths and having their own agendas.**


	37. EXTRA 2 - Soft Boiled Detective

**As I mentioned before this is the next chapter focusing on Peni's POV. The next chapter will go back to Noir in 1934 for more single dad detective antics. This will the last time I post this here since it now has its own dedicated story: A Fragile Web.**

**Make sure to give your feedback for this chapter, particularly for Peni's character. I'm still tweaking her and might re-write this chapter if people don't like her personality. Also, as I mentioned before this is more of a mini-fic so chapter lengths will be generally lower. Hopefully this avoids bloating.**

* * *

**February 16, 1945**

Peni missed her dad.

The young, dark haired girl sat up on the bed and hugged her knees to her chest. It'd only been a few days since her dad left - _for her sake_, she reminded herself - and still she couldn't stop thinking about it. Her dad was gone and it was because of her. Because she'd gotten careless and the wrong people found out who - what - she was.

She pressed her face against her legs and sniffled. Her thoughts drifted back to their goodbye a few days ago. She'd clung to his legs, cried and begged for him not to go while the mean man with the eyepatch and cigar and the blonde man with the shield just stared at them. Her dad told her that it'd be alright and that he'd see her again soon, but she didn't listen. She didn't want to see him again soon; she wanted him here now.

There was a skittering across her legs and eventually a small weight settled on her right knee. _**Sad.**_ She looked up and, through teary eyes, saw her best friend sitting down at her knee in a slump. The black, long legged spider sagged across the small space and she immediately felt bad. She rubbed his thorax gently and forced herself to smile. Whatever she felt he did too.

"Sorry..."

**'Miss.'**

"Yeah, I do..." She sighed and laid down fully. Spider (he didn't have a name and never accepted any she gave him) skittered up her body to her left cheek. Peni closed her eyes and focused on the noises outside. It was noon now so the feast shelter was full. Auntie Mary Jane would be busy now, just like she'd always been after she took over after Grandma May's death a couple of years ago.

**'Hate.'**

"She didn't hate us." Peni shook her head gently. She didn't know exactly what happened between her and dad, but apparently it had something to do with her mom and the way she was born. Her dad never told her even when she asked, always telling her he'd do it when she got older, and Grandma May didn't say anything either. Now she wished she said something before the pneumonia hit her.

She hadn't left her room much. Ever since her dad went away she didn't have the energy and Auntie Mary Jane told her it wasn't safe outside. They opened up that camp in Long Island a couple of weeks ago and she knew people like her were being taken. It was enough that both her and dad told her to pretend to be Chinese if anyone asked. They still weren't treated well, but at least they weren't taken to the camps.

**'Friends.'**

"We can't go out, Spider..." Peni mumbled. It wasn't like she didn't want to see Hiro. He was one of the few Japanese friends she had here. A lot of the others looked down on her because of who her dad was. Hating people who were different came from everyone, her dad said.

**'Sick.'**

"I know his aunte's sick." Hiro was really worried about it the last time she saw him. His family didn't make much and it was getting harder and harder for them to afford medicine. She'd begged her dad to help and he gave them some medicine. She still remembered Hiro crying and hugging and thanking her for it. She blushed slightly at the memory and, just for a moment, forgot all about how sad she was about her dad leaving.

She really did want to see him again, but what could she do? Her dad told her to follow whatever whatever Auntie Mary Jane said and even if she went to Auntie Felicia she'd just send her back here too. She was worried about the camps just like her dad was. Even with how much money she had she couldn't protect her if the soldiers and the people in the suits wanted her.

It was the same reason dad had to leave after the people from S.H.I.E.L.D knew what she was.

**'Leave.'**

"I...I dunno." She sat up and bit her lower lip while Spider moved to the top of her head. She really did want to see Hiro again, but what if she got caught? Auntie Mary Jane would be so mad and then she'd tell her dad and then _he'd_ be mad too. Auntie Felicia might get mad too and after that she wouldn't be able to get those fancy treats Spider liked. It was just too risky.

**'Worried.'**

"Of course I'm worried! But..."

**'Quick.'**

She looked out to the midday sun. Auntie Mary Jane would be busy helping the people for at least a few hours and Hiro's place wasn't too far if she ran for it. If she went there and just handed the medicine then she could make it back before anyone would know she was gone. Her dad taught her not to draw attention to herself and she knew the alleys. No one would catch her if she didn't want it.

Nodding resolutely, she made her way to the dresser and changed out of her pajamas. Spider jumped from her head and and grabbed the bottle of medicine from the drawer while she pulled out the small bag from under her bed.

She opened the zipper slowly and looked at the tech inside. This was the reason S.H.I.E.L.D wanted her. Ever since Spider bit her when she was a baby she'd been smart; smarter than most kids or even adults. Spider showed her things and she built them. Not the exact same way since she didn't have the parts for it, but close enough. Her dad helped.

She put the small web grenades in her pocket and strapped the webshooter to right wrist. This was the hardest thing to make. The vision Spider showed her had them look small and something she could hide easily. The ones she made were big and bulky and covered most of her wrist up to her elbow. Dad told her never to use it unless she had to. Hopefully this counted.

Peni put on the loose coat and Spider hid inside her collar, "Hold on." She opened the window and clicked the webshooter twice. The web stuck to the windowsill and she slowly climbed down to the alley below. She didn't have her dad's powers. If she fell she'd hurt her legs, "Mmm." She clicked another button when she landed and the web detached, hanging awkwardly from the window. She'd clean it up when she came back.

She pulled up her collar and ran through the familiar alleyways. She'd gone through this place dozens of times. She could probably close her eyes and wouldn't hit a wall once.

Peni made it to Hiro's apartment building in just 10 minutes. She put her hands on her knees and panted. **Tired**. Peni rolled her eyes. Yeah, of course she was tired. She didn't have her dad's powers. Spider told her it was because he was the last of the spiders on his group so she couldn't contact the guy who gave her dad his powers. The visions were the best he could do.

She went inside quickly and ran up the stairs. Hiro's place was on the third floor. Peni saw a few people whispering when they saw her and ignored it. She always got look from the people who just looked at her eyes and skin. They called her a lot of things to her face. Jap, Nip, Half-breed...it hurt at first, but now she just ignored it. Her dad taught her not to pay attention to what idiots thought about her.

Peni knocked on the door gently, "Hiro? Tadashi? Mr and Mrs. Hamada?" No answer. Brows furrowing worriedly, she jiggled the knob and was surprised that it wasn't locked. Peni looked around briefly then slipped inside.

The entire place was empty. She called out their names again and still got no answer, "Hello?" She checked all the rooms. Nothing, not a trace. Did they all leave? No, that didn't make any sense. The door wasn't locked and none of their things were here. Maybe they moved? Hiro did say they might have to find another place, but she always thought it wouldn't happen so soon.

She felt that small tingle at the back of her head and her hands drifted to the web grenades in her pocket, "Who's there?" a loud, cranky voice cried out. Peni looked back and her shoulders sagged slightly when she saw Mr. Monroe. He was a mean old man who always seemed to wear the same stained shirt that barely held in his gut.

"It's me, Mr. Monroe!" she said.

"Ugh, great, the Jap." He didn't like her. At all. Which was fine since she didn't like him either. The only reason she ever talked to him is cause he owned the building and he never stopped being so nosy, "Your little boyfriend ain't here. Get lost."

**'Eat'**

_'No, I'm not eating him. He probably tasted bad.' _she chided mentally, "Where's Hiro? And the rest of the family?"

"They're gone." He grunted.

"Gone _where_?"

"What's it matter? You ain't gonna see them again."

Peni grit her teeth. He was always so annoying! "Fine, I guess I'll get my dad to ask then." His eyes widened briefly then he grit his teeth in a scowl. Mr. Monroe was scared of her dad. She didn't know why but she knew it was the reason the worst thing he did was throw slurs at her when dad wasn't around.

"Fine, you little..." he muttered a few more expletives under his breath then finally said, "They got taken to that camp up on long island. Guess some of the other tenants didn't like spies hangin' around."

"Wh-What?! Who?!"

"I don't know. I'd give em a piece of my mind if I knew - the Japs still owed me this month's rent and now I'm out some long green cause of that snitch."

Peni ignored his selfish rant and ran back down to the ground floor. Hiro and the rest of his family were gone. Taken. Why? Because people were scared? They didn't do anything! Just because there was some war going on somewhere else didn't mean the people who lived here were bad! Mr and Mrs. Hamada were some of the nicest people she knew! They didn't deserve this!

She was crying again. Peni wiped the tears on the sleeves of her coat while Spider nuzzled her cheek. This wasn't fair...

**'Camp.'**

"Go to the camp? We can't. We're supposed to be back before Auntie Mary Jane finds out we left." And even if they did go there what then? The place had soldiers and they wouldn't let them in. Or they'd lock her up.

**'Sneak'**

Peni bit her lip. Her dad taught her things. How to sneak away, where to hit someone bigger. Only to defend herself, he said. The world outside was dangerous and he couldn't always be there to protect her. If it was dark enough and the guards were tired then she could maybe sneak inside, but even then she couldn't save Hiro and the rest of his family.

Her dad could've. He could save anyone - he was a hero. He saved Auntie Mary Jane and Auntie Felicia and the people who came to him for help. But not her. She couldn't be a hero.

**'Medicine.'**

She gripped the bottle of antibiotics tightly. She'd heard stories of the camps. People crammed together and treated like prisoners just because of the color of their skin and the way their eyes were shaped. People got sick there and none of the soldiers cared. Hiro's aunt was already sick and they wouldn't get any medicine. Even if the bottle was small it could still help.

"...Okay, let's go."

She made her way there on her foot. By the time she got there the sun was out and the night chill was enough to make her shiver. Peni sunk into her coat and crouched behind a bush. The camp was big with a high fence to keep everyone inside. She snuck over to where there weren't as many guards and ran to the fence. She only had one chance or else they'd catch her.

She clicked twice and shot a line of web to the top of the fence. She scrambled up and over as quietly as she could and jumped into a nearby trench just before the guard passed by again. The web was dark enough that he wouldn't see it unless he looked close and even if he did find it he'd just think a giant spider made it.

Peni waited for the footsteps to fade before she hopped up the trench and into the main part of the camp. Her coat and face were dirty because of the fall but it made it easier to blend in with the others. Peni looked around the crowds of people and held back a cry. All of them looked so sad and beaten. This was wrong. She wished she could do something.

She saw a familiar head of dark hair not too far away and she ran to him, "Hiro!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him into an embrace.

Hiro turned around and, after a few seconds of wide eyed surprise, hugged her back, "P-Peni?" They separated and Peni nodded tearfully. He hugged her again and laugh cried, "Wh-What are you- did they take you too?"

"No, I snuck in." She grabbed the bottle and raised it triumphantly, "Antibiotics! Didn't your Auntie Cass need them?"

"Y-Yeah, she does, but-" He lowered the bottle and looked around warily, "Come on, we should get inside."

Hiro led her to one of the big houses. It was cramped and filled with beds, but for now it was empty except two people in the corner. Peni recognized them immediately, "Mrs. Hamada." Peni hugged her too and frowned at the other woman sleeping on the bed. Ms. Cass looked worse than when he saw her last. Her skin was pale and clammy and her eyes were sunken in.

"Peni. So Peter couldn't stop you from being taken too, hm?" She smiled down at her sadly.

"She didn't get caught, mom. She snuck in." Hiro handed her the bottle, "She brought us some medicine. Auntie Cass can get better now, right?"

Mrs. Hamada took the bottle. She wasn't smiling, "I...thank you for doing this, Peni, but I'm afraid this won't be enough?"

"I-I can get more medicine! Just tell me what you need-"

"It's not that. It's this place." She scowled, "Cass needs to be in a hospital, not trapped in here and forced to work. The only reason they let me in here to watch over her is because she finally collapsed today."

"Then...Then what do we do?" Hiro asked. Peni held his hand and squeezed it.

"I don't think there's anything we can-" her eyes suddenly widened and Peni felt the tingle again, "Peni, you need to hide."

"Wh-What-"

Without another word both she and Hiro shoved her into the a nearby dresser and closed the door. Peni peeked through the small crack. She heard the door open and footsteps drew closer to them, "What are you doing here?" a rough voice asked. Peni looked closer and saw the tall, pale skinned man wearing a labcoat. He was looking right at Hiro, "Shouldn't you be working outside?"

"I...I wanted to check on my aunt," Hiro said softly.

"Hmm..." He looked past him and picked up the bottle of medicine on the bed, "Where did you get this, boy?" Hiro didn't answer.

"W-We had it in case of an emergency." Mrs. Hamada said, "My sister is sick. If we didn't treat her she would die. Please, Dr. Connors-"

"I'm not interested in your excuses." He pocketed the bottle with a sneer.

"My aunt needs that! You can't-"

Two soldiers - must have been the other footsteps she heard - stepped forward. One of them smacked Hiro in the face with the butt of his rifle. Peni covered her mouth with both hands to keep from screaming while Mrs. Hamada shouted and cried at them in Japanese, "You know the punishment for disobeying the rules. Take them both. I'm sure we can find a use for them below.

Peni and Hiro's eyes met for just a second, but she saw what he meant to stay: 'Don't do anything.' He wanted to her to escape even though this was all her fault. Peni shut her eyes tightly and argued with herself. Could she go out there and save them? Even if she could they couldn't carry out Ms. Cass and they wouldn't leave her behind.

The choice was made for her. She didn't know if it was because a noise eked through her clamped hands or something else entirely, but one of the soldiers stared at the dresser with with narrowed eyes. Hiro gasped and, before she could say anything, tackled the soldier's side.

"Peni, run!"

Peni's body moved on its own. She fell out of the dresser with a crash and ran to the door. She was almost there when a pair of hands grabbed her shoulders from behind and lifted her up into the air, "Who are you?!" The scientist screamed, spit flying at her face. Peni screamed struggled in a panic, "I don't recognize you. Are you a new prisoner?! Answer me!"

He shook her roughly and didn't notice Spider jump. He landed on his face and bit his mandibles down his right eye. The scientist let go of her and screamed, both hands pressed against his face. Peni grabbed Spider in a panic and ran out of the door back to the camp outside. The people outside were still shocked, unsure of what was happening inside the cabin.

She ran back to the fence. A few of the soldiers noticed her escape and chased after her. Peni fumbled for the web grenades in her pocket and threw them all behind her.

She didn't look back, but she did hear their screams and curses. Hopefully it meant they were all trapped. She scrambled up and over again before another soldier grabbed her, "Hey, I've got her! I've-"

Peni webbed his face and kicked him between the legs. The soldier fell and she kept running, straight into the forest with the sounds of screams and sirens behind her.

Back at the camp, a pale man in a wheelchair rolled his way to the trapped soldiers. He paid the confused and panicking fools no mind and picked at the dark silk between his fingers. He knew it all too well.

Otto Octavius' face split into an ugly smile. It appeared the Spider was interfering in his work again. This time he'd see to it that it'd be the last.

* * *

**Well...that didn't go well. Looks like Peni's first foray into being a good Samaritan didn't work out so well for her. Then again what else can you expect when a 10 year old tries to play hero with nothing more than some web ejectors, a weak spider-sense and her best spider friend. **

**Anyway, as the end of the chapter indicates Peni's main baddie will be the monstrous scientist, Otto Octavius. I figured a non-physical, cerebral antagonist fits a non-physical, cerebral protagonist. I'll save the identity of Noir's baddie for now. Hopefully this chapter was enjoyable. **

**Questions:**

**1\. Do you guys want Noir and a 10 year old Peni to work together? Right now the two scenes are very solo focused - in the 1934 segments Peni's an infant while in the 1945 segments Noir is in Germany after the deal with SHIELD.**

**2\. Should Peni get access to a steampunk-esque mech or do I just have her stick with gadgets and stealth?**

**Review Answers:**

**Retrogunner7 - Most readers just ignore his references, same way Gwen helped dismantle HYDRA and fight Skrulls in the timeskip.**

**Cyclopz - Something tells me this father-daughter relationship isn't going to be so happy. Being a single dad in the 30's is hard.**

**Nameless - Nope, can't say I've seen it.**

**That Geeky Guy - He's 19 since he was 18 when he impregnated Yuri, but yeah. Hopefully I do this single dad thing right.**

**Lolrus555 - To be fair I did imagine that original Noir in Looking Glass had a Troy Baker voice. Also, as much as I like the compliment, the Cohen club scene happened after Noir's true identity was already revealed. I just made that scene cause I like the scene, not for foreshadowing.**

**Sure, hit me up with any fic help you need :)**


	38. Return To Sender

**Sorry for the delays. Thesis, work and the occasional gaming have taken up a lot of my time. That and my new fic as well. Hopefully the next update won't be as long. **

**Read the new Noir ongoing and I'm currently awaiting the upcoming Silk one. Hope it's good. ****As before twitter segments in italics are made by Nerdman3000 while non-italicized ones are from me. Hopefully they're both fun :)**

**Side note - hopefully the first segment can still pass for a T rating. If not I'll change it.**

* * *

_**EvelynRichards**: Dear **TheAvengers** and **FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman**. My name is Evelyn Richards and I need your help. My son, Reed, has been missing for over a year. The police haven't been able to help me, and I was starting to lose hope, until I heard Spinerette mention that in her world my son is some kind of superhero._

_**Reply from FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman:** Can you tell us what you know about your son Reed's disappearance?_

_**Reply from EvelynRichards:** Oh thank god you responded! As for your question, a little more than year or two ago, not long before Spider-Man showed up for the first time, a strange came out of this portal in my living room and offered my son to join something he called 'The Council of Reeds'. My son...he just accepted the man's offer and went with him through the portal and he hasn't returned since!_

_**Reply from FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman:** Your son...just left with a man through a portal?_

_**Reply from EvelynRichards:** Yes! Please I'm telling the truth! No one believes me when I tell them and thinks he must have run away, but I know what I saw! Please believe me!_

_**Reply from FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman:** I believe you ma'am. Trust me, I've seen and heard crazier stuff. Anyways, I'll see what I can do. I will try to find your son, I promise._

_**Reply from EvelynRichards:** Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Please find him and bring him home!_

_**Reply from GPool:** I always did wonder what happened to this story's Reed Richards, considering his role in the original Spider-Gwen comic. Never expected him to join the Council of Reeds though! I guess they were impressed by him making all that dimensional travel shit out of Lego's._

_**Reply from EvelynRichards:** I'm sorry, what?_

_**Reply from FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman:** Not you again! Ugh! Didn't I block you? **EvelynRichards**, please ignore Gwenpoole. She's a known troll I've had to deal with who thinks I'm Gwen Stacy. Can't ever seem to block her._

_**Reply from GPool:** Your just jealous cause I can break the 4th Wall. :P :D ;)_

* * *

Gwen wasn't a stranger to the occasional act of rebellion. Sneaking into clubs, using fake ID's to get drinks or even partaking in the occasional hit of the mary jane (often alongside Mary Jane). Sure she loved her dad, but he wasn't used to raising a daughter alone and compensated the best way he could - rules, rules and more rules. He did his best. Being a police officer wasn't good training for being a single dad.

Still, it did mean that her teenage rebellion years started early. The first time she'd taken a sip of beer was when she was 15 and some old talkshow host decided she was fair game to make fun of to make a comeback; which failed considering the last time she saw him he was selling used cars. And there was the whole Spider-Woman thing to begin with. Even before she got accused of murdering Peter her dad disapproved. It made her feel bad, but a part of her felt giddy sneaking behind the police chief's back.

And then it all turned to shit.

"Ooh, this one's got some moves, gents!"

Still, none of her acts of rebellion could hold a handle to what she was doing now. Gwen held back the rising bile in her throat and spun around almost gracefully on the pole. All around her she saw cheering men, all of them leering and looking at her like she was just a piece of meat. It made her sick, especially since she knew it wasn't the first time. As much as Betty made jokes about it Gwen never found it funny knowing people were jacking off to Spider-Woman. That for all the things she did, all the bullshit she had to go through, for some people she was just wank material.

Seeing it up close didn't do anything to improve that opinion. Gwen arched her back and made sure her butt stuck out close to the edge of the stage,_ 'I'm going to _kill _Cindy when I get out of here.' _She grit her teeth and forced a smile before smacking said butt with a loud slap. The clothes (if they could even be called that) Webster made for her left little to the imagination - a bra that left the top of her (transformed) boobs popping out, panties that rode up her butt and high heels that looked and felt like torture devices. Even in some of her raunchier fantasies (which Webster complained messed up her sleep cycle) she'd never dream of wearing something like this.

_Peter_ wearing something like it, on the other hand...

**'Just think of Peter. It will make it easier.'**

_'Considering he's 7 years old right now? Not really.' _She spun again on the pole and flipped upside down, holding herself up by her legs. That got a few more drunken jeers and some money thrown her way. Gwen winked at a particularly drunken patron close to the stage and grinded against the pole after righting herself again. That got her a few more dollars thrown her way.

A minute more and her 'dance' finally ended. Gwen stuffed the money in the waistband of her undies (money never felt more gross) and passed by MJ on the stage, "Good luck," she whispered. The fake brunette gave her a nod and a small wink. According to what Jess dug up the guy liked brunettes so they'd changed accordingly. MJ's hair was completely black while Gwen shifted to a lighter shade of brown that reminded her of May in her younger days.

She went to the changing room and practically collapsed on the closest chair, not even bothering to take the bills off. She'd only danced for about 15 minutes but already she felt exhausted, "Nice moves out there." Gwen cracked an eye open and looked to the source of the voice. She was tan (and it actually looked natural, surprise surprise) with dark brown hair and red lingerie that was only slightly less scandalous than what Gwen wore. She looked maybe a couple of years older than she was.

"Uh...thanks. Had a few ballet classes back when I was a kid." A lie, but She-Hulk did suggest she take lessons. Either that or breakdancing. Either one could help her come up with new moves better than watching Meals on Wheels for the dozenth time, "Name's Traci. With an I." Her fake stripper name. MJ went with Jade for some reason.

"Sapphire. You new?"

"Yeah. That obvious?" Gwen cracked a small smile. She seemed friendly enough.

"Kinda. You've still got bills on your thong." Gwen shuffled awkwardly and took said bills out, "Don't worry, newbie, you get used to it. Owner's pretty decent here and you can usually make enough in a couple years to move on to greener pastures."

"Yeah...uh, sorry but I gotta ask. Why are you..."

"Law school's _expensive_." She grinned at that, and Gwen was just so happy to see someone not leering at her that she grinned back, "I figured it was either this or spending the next decade paying off school loans."

"A lawyer? After what happened to that Murdock guy you sure?"

"Ugh, don't even talk to me about that." She rolled her eyes and sighed, "Ever since that prick got outed you wouldn't believe the amount of 'Lawyers go to hell' jokes I've had to deal with. 7 years studying your ass off and the first thing people do is call you a lying parasite. But of course when someone needs help in court suddenly they forget all about being so judgy."

"It is what it is." Gwen shrugged. She didn't hate lawyers, not really. Sure Murdock soured her on them somewhat - and growing up with her dad led to all too many horror stories on lawyers who got criminals off on technicalities - but she knew not to judge wholesale. She'd ran into her fair share of corrupt and power tripping cops the past three years but that didn't mean all cops were that bad.

Though she still held a grudge on that guy who said he'd let her go for a 'little something something' while looking at her ass. Really should've gotten his name...

"So..." Gwen started, making sure she sounded clueless and nervous, "I heard, like, there are criminals here."

Sapphire raised a brow, "Not so sure about that. Why?"

"Uh, cause I don't wanna get shot? I got a little brother to worry about!" she huffed, crossing her arms and pouting. Ugh, this was _killing_ her, "I mean I'll dance or whatever but if someone asks me to put a gun to my head so they can get off I'm out. Ain't doing that shit again."

"_Again?_ That's a story I'm gonna need to hear more off." Sapphire shook her head, "Look you don't have to worry. The boss here's pretty particular about that business staying out of the club. Uh...you _do_ know what the private dances are, right?"

"Yep. I'm careful, not stupid." Gwen rolled her eyes exaggeratedly, "Again I just don't wanna get shot. There are some sickos out there and I don't care how much dough they're flashin', it ain't worth the hospital bills."

They spent the the next quarter of an hour talking. Sapphire - whose real name was Kirsten McDuffie, according to her slip - was a decent conversationalist. It helped that she hated Murdock too and Gwen was all about that. Fuck Murdock and fuck him weaseling his way to hanging around Peter and MJ. Guy was worse than a cockroach on steroids.

Eventually Sapphire got called back and MJ strolled back n. Gwen met up with her and they walked to a corner out of sight of the other women, "How'd it go?" she whispered.

"About what you'd expect." MJ shrugged, face impassive "Pretty weird to get cheered on for my boobs but it's not like it's the first time some horny old pervert wanted to get his rocks off." Gwen sighed in agreement. It was pretty rare, but there was the occasional time some pervo came to their concerts just to check out the rock band with a pretty redhead front and center. MJ mostly tried to ignore it when Betty told her.

"Think we made enough of an impression?"

"I think so. I saw the guy we're after and he was definitely rocking something." How could MJ be so damn cool about this? Then again, the grim part of her mind whispered, it's not like it's the worst thing MJ's done the past couple of weeks, "I still don't get what we're supposed to do here. Do she expect us to give him such an amazing blowjob he'll literally spill everything?"

"No. Remember what Cindy said: we get close enough to him and we put a tracker somewhere he can't see." Gwen raised her right hand and let a clump of biomass shift on her palm, "After that we follow him around and see if we can track him back to where he and his bosses are keeping those fancy guns." Thankfully they only had to get close to him once. Not so thankfully she'd probably have nightmares over this.

More than anything she hated how everyone around her reacted, especially her dad and Peter. Ever since she told them about her plans to, ugh, _seduce_ Roxxon to outing himself they'd been tense. Peter hated the idea of that bastard getting so close to her and her dad...hoo boy, he already had his issues with her dating Peter. Roxxon nearly made him explode.

The only saving grace was that Peter didn't (openly) show just how disgusted he was at the thought of it. It wasn't cheating - they both knew that - but she still felt sick thinking about it. The only saving grace was that Webster promised she'd take control if and when something ever happened and that she wouldn't feel a thing.

_**'I have your back, Gwen. Always.'**_

_'Same here.'_ Gwen smiled slightly and leaned against the wall, arms crossed, "So...how'd you like dancing?" she smiled crookedly.

"Easier since I have Crimson with me." She tilted her head slightly, "Oof, it's not a fan. You're lucky your tagalong isn't as whiny as mine is." She always called hers 'it', Gwen noticed, She wasn't surprised, especially after everything it did to her. She was honestly surprised they two of them managed to...well, not get along, but avoid trying to kill each other. It that was even possible.

**'It is, but Mary Jane would be left in a horrible state afterwards. Symbiosis is the key to their salvation.**

_'Sounds like a game tagline.'_

The rest of the day was spent with more the safe. Dances, breaks, dances, breaks and more dances. By the time Gwen was done she could practically fill a jar with the amount of dollars tossed her way and enough leering eyes that she felt like one of those way too expensive figurines. She swore to herself that she'd put every single dollar to charity as soon as she was out of here.

"Where'd you get moves like that? They really teach that in ballet?" Sapphire whispered, impressed.

"You'd be surprised." Gwen grinned weakly and was about to make another joke when she got a tap on her shoulder, "Oh, hey, Jade. What's-"

"Can I talk to you? Alone?"

"Uh...sure." The both of them went to that same corner from before, "Something wrong?"

"That guy just asked for a private dance." Gwen's eyes hardened. So soon? Cindy thought they'd need at least a couple more days to make an impression, "I'm gonna go in there now. I'll put a tracker on this guy then we can meet up outside."

"Got it. Be careful, okay?"

"I think he has more to worry about that I do." She grinned, flashing teeth that were monstrously sharp before quickly turning back to normal. That was the other side of her newfound confidence. As much Gwen loved getting the old Mary Jane back seeing her so lax at the idea of hurting someone was never going to stop being disturbing. It reminded her just a bit too much of Shadowcat to her liking.

Mary Jane turned to leave and Gwen grabbed her wrist, "Hey..." Mary Jane looked back at her curiously, "You're not going to kill this guy...right?" She knew she promised she'd change things to make her and Peter _want_ to stop killing people but she couldn't just turn off her hesitation. It wasn't that easy.

"Cindy wants him and his buddies arrested," Mary Jane said coolly. Gwen still didn't let go, "Look, what do you want from me? I promise I won't hurt him any more than I need to. Don't forget that these guys are terrorists. If he tries something then I'm hitting back."

"That's not what I..." Gwen sighed and let her go, "Sorry for being weird. Just...I'm still trying to get used to this whole thing you have now."

"It took you a couple of months to get used to Tiger. I can wait." Mary Jane grinned wryly and sauntered out of the room like she wasn't wearing a thong and high heels. Gwen sighed and collapsed onto a chair, ignoring Sapphire's worried looks. This was mess. Being a hero was hard, but it was a fuckton better than playing sexytime stripper so a bunch of guys could jerk off to her ass.

Her already short break was cut painfully short when the same bouncer from before tapped her shoulder. Gwen looked up just as he jerked his thumb, "Someone called you out for a private dance."

"Wh-What do you- I mean, already?" She forced herself not to shout something obscene. She'd been so busy thinking about Cindy's target that she forgot that anyone else could request her.

"Yeah, you're a real crowd pleaser." He grunted, obviously not a fan of talking more than necessary, "Just go before the boss gets mad. Room with the number 4 in the back."

"Got it." Well, she'd have to play the part. With any luck MJ'd get the guy and put the tracker on him before she had to do anything she'd definitely regret, **'Tell me if you wish to relinquish control, Gwen. I have watched enough dances on television to know how to mimic it.'**

_'Thanks, Webs.' _

She opened the door and froze when she saw the guy lying back spread eagle on the couch with a giant grin on his face. She expected anyone - some horny college student, a perverted old man- hell, even the police chief.

Anyone but that fucker Bullseye.

"Hey there, girlie." He eyed er up and down with a dangerous leer. For a second she wondered if he knew who she was before she saw the bulge in his pants. Yeah, definitely not. The psychopath _hated_ her, "Saw your moves out there and I'm a fan. Hope your solo moves don't disappoint."

"Oh, I think you'll be satisfied." She forced herself to grin even if she was _screaming_ inside. What in the _hell_ was that zombie bastard doing here? "Any song you like?"

"I'll let you pick that one."

She pressed the remote to start a random song and started a routine. Webster took over most of the movement while Gwen was stuck in her thoughts. It didn't look like he knew who she was - and if he did then she'd have a _lot _of questions for Cindy - but that didn't do much to make her feel better. Right now the guy she was grinding up against was the one who hurt Peter, put Lana in the hospital and killed God only knew how many other people.

_"I'm going to kill every single one of the Hand starting with Bullseye."_

She turned away from him and the fingers on her right hand briefly shifted to claws. She could end him here right now. Just turn around and cut his throat open. He already died once so would it even count?

**'Gwen?'**

_'...Damn it.' _She willed her hand back to normal before Webster twisted them around and practically shoved her boobs into the guy's face. She was only delaying the inevitable. Peter was going to kill him as soon as he got his hands on him and Gwen couldn't change that. Still, she couldn't do it. She'd killed in a fight if she had to - that kaiju definitely wasn't breathing when they were done - but she couldn't play assassin and cut a guy's throat while he was getting a lapdance.

Still, that didn't mean she'd just let him off. Gwen pressed herself hard against him and, after making sure he wasn't looking, tossed a bit of biomass to the back of his leather trenchcoat (seriously?), "Wooh, someone's eager." He liked his lips while she winked (kill her now) and went down to a kneeling position. She couldn't put it off any longer and the faster he got out of here the faster she could track down his friends and kick their teeth in. Just cause she didn't want to kill them didn't mean jail was off the menu.

Her heart jumped into her throat when she placed a hand on his thigh. He was hard, that much was obvious, and judging by the look on his face she knew exactly what he wanted her to do about it. Gwen gulped audibly and resisted the urge to gag. It wasn't the first time she'd gone down on someone, or the other way around (Peter was unsurprisingly good with his hands and mouth), but knowing it was that sick bastard made her feel ill.

She put traced a hand across the zipper and forced a smirk, "Looks like someone's packing heat." Ugh, kill her with a spoon. The tattooed psychopath smirked and leaned back with his eyes closed. Again she was almost tempted to cut his throat. He would've deserved it, right? _'No, god damn it.'_ Shaking her head, she grit her teeth and began the slow process of pulling the zipper down-

A sudden vibration jolted them both out of the sick display. Bullseye sighed, loud and annoyed, and pulled out his phone, "Yeah? Wait, _right_ now? Seriously? I'm just- no, you don't gotta pull on the leash again. I'll play ball." He sighed again and put the phone back, "Sorry, darling, looks like I'm busy."

"Aww, you were my first gig." She pouted, even though she was mentally screaming in relief inside.

"I know, but you know what bosses are like. Tug you around like you're a dog on a leash." She had the feeling that was more literal for him than other people, "Tell you what, I'll come back and request you again next time huh?"

"Sure." She smiled and, as soon as she was out of sight, promptly grabbed the bottle of complimentary booze and chugged the entire thing. Her non-existent alcohol tolerance kicked in and she her vision swam, but she held it in, "God damn it..." She slammed the bottle down and it shattered into little pieces. She didn't even bother to look guilty and just stomped out.

She got into an abandoned room and, after making sure there weren't any cameras around, pulled her phone out of her 'pocket' and gave a quick text to MJ, 'Bullseye asshole's here. Gonna track him. Hold the fort for a bit.' She jumped out of the window, shifting into her costume mid-arc, and ran up the roof of the opposite building. Even the stench of garbage in the alley below felt like a breath of fresh air.

_'Webster, you got him?'_

**'Yes, he's not too far away. Are you sure we should be doing this? Mary Jane-'**

_'I won't be long. We can't let this fucker get away.'_

It didn't take her long to track him down to the rest of his buddies. Gwen leaned over the edge of a rooftop and narrowed her eyes at the parking lot below. There was Bullseye, a bunch of guys in suits and an old Chinese lady - probably that Gao woman - on one side while on the other were men wearing dark formal wear and green scorpion masks.

She couldn't make out what they were saying, but the crates full of weapons and something else she couldn't place didn't look good. Time to bust some heads.

Gwen swung down and webbed on the scorpion thugs in the face, "Hey, hope you don't mind me crashing the party!" She yanked the pistol away from the closest gunman and smacked him in the face with it. Everyone around her scrambled, either moving to fight her or trying to get the merchandise.

She kicked a triad goon to the ground and flipped over the knife aimed at her spine, "You weren't the Spider I was expecting." Bullseye grinned. Just past him she saw a couple of guys in suits rushing Gao out back to her car. She aimed a web past him and he cut it mid-flight, "Ah, ah, ah! We're the ones fighting here! Come on, I'll send your head back to Petey in a bag. Be a nice present!"

_'Seriously?'_ She dodged his next knives and kicked behind her at the charging goon, "One at a time, fellas! Girl can only do so much!" She flipped over another goon and webbed his hands to make him punch himself. Bullseye threw two more knives and she tossed the guy to a nearby car before webbing him to the surface. It'd hurt, but it was better than getting stabbed in the neck.

"Still a little goody blue shoes, huh?" He sneered.

"And you're still crazy pants." She took out the last goon and swung over to him. That Gao lady was gone, but she could deal with that later. Gwen rolled to avoid the next thrown blades and landed in front of him. He tried to stab her gut and she grabbed his wrist before it could make contact, "Not this time." She tightened her grip till she heard a painful crack and he dropped the blade. The same one Peter had a year ago before he left.

She kicked it to the side and blocked his other hand then forced him to kneel on the ground. His face knotted in pain and, after a few seconds, he suddenly rose up and headbutted her. She didn't even feel it, "Heh, still as strong as ever." She forced him back on his knees. She could've webbed him down or knocked him out, but she wanted him to hurt.

"You're going to pay for what you did to Peter and Lana."

"Hah...you thought that was bad? You ain't seen nothin' yet!"

He flicked his left hand and she heard a hissing behind her. Gwen punched him to the ground and webbed him down before turning around to a pierced canister. What the hell did he throw? She didn't get a chance to question before a white, slimy thing oozed out of the small hole and, before she could do anything, suddenly lunged towards her.

It felt just like when Webster bonded to her over a year ago, except this time she felt herself getting weaker,** 'Gwen! It's trying to separate us! It's-'** Webster's voice suddenly dropped off. Gwen was forced on her knees and tried in vain to grab the white blob and pry it off her. It got everywhere starting from her stomach till it covered her arms, legs and head. She couldn't breath, could barely keep her eyes open.

Just before everything went black she saw an arrow embed itself on the ground.

It was quickly followed by the most earsplitting shriek she'd ever heard. Gwen's eyes shot open and, after a bit more fumbling, she managed to pry the blob off of her, **'Now, Gwen!'** She tossed it to the ground, transformed her right hand into a blade and stabbed it clean through the center. She swore she heard the thing shriek before it eventually stopped thrashing and lay still on the gravel.

"Hey, Spider-Woman." Kate grappled down next to her.

"Hawkeye...what are you doing here?" Gwen put her hands on her knees and panted.

"Saving your butt, looks like." She grinned slightly and re-holstered your bow, "That thing looked like it had you by the ropes."

"Yeah, it did. Thanks..."

"Don't mention it." She waved a hand and looked down at the knocked out Bullseye, "Huh, he really is alive again..."

"Yeah." Gwen sucked in a deep breath through her nose and stood back up to her full height, noticing that she was suddenly a few inches taller than Kate. Huh, she must not have changed back fully. Whatever, "Gonna make sure they find a nice, comfy cell for him in Rykers."

"We have other things to worry about." Kate nodded down to the dead blob, "I came here because your dad wanted me to watch over you, figured you needed some backup. Didn't think you'd run into this thing."

"You know what it is?"

"Kinda." She knelt down and grabbed a sample that she put on a canister, "I've been helping Cindy investigate Scorpion. From what I gathered he's been selling off weapons and is dabbling in the high tech weapons trade. This is one of those things." She raised the vial up to her, "Apparently he managed to snag some of Evil Cindy's files and he's reverse engineering them."

"And one of those is that thing."

"Yeah, a symbiote killer. Apparently they call it anti-venom." She stood up and put the vial in a pouch, "He's been making deals with the Hand. Those old ass ninjas know they can't mess with the Avengers so they're trying to get insurance. Wouldn't be surprised if he's trying to get something like the ones that put Cap and She-Hulk out of commission last year."

"We need to stop him then."

"Exactly my idea." She smirked, "I put a tracking arrow on the van they came in. I'll call Cindy and get her to get all the stuff they left behind. They can put this guy in a cell too."

"I'm not leaving till they pick him up. Need to make sure he's put in prison." She picked up the crazy magic knife and put back on it sheath. Maybe she could convince Peter to toss it to the ocean or something.

"Fine with me." Kate shrugged and called Cindy while Gwen did the same with Mary Jane.

"MJ, you there? Change of plans. I need to follow up another lead. Could you-"

"I've already got the tracker on the guy. I'll follow him on my own." There was a pause and then her next words came out in a whisper, "Murdock's here too. Says Page sent him here to help us out. Just thought you should know."

"Fuck, why can't he just leave us the fuck alone?"

"He knows something so I can't exactly tell him to screw off. I'll be fine, okay? Follow up on your lead and I'll follow up on mine."

"Yeah...good luck."

* * *

**SpacticBone45:** Hey, so you remember when SHIELD got taken down, some of their files got leaked onto the internet? Now, I know most of it's encrypted, but a couple of what little me and a few friends managed to decrypt is just fascinating.

**Reply from GreatPurpleZemo:** Like what?

**Reply from SpacticBone45:** Well, some stuff we already knew, like Spinerette being a dimensional twin of Ms. Negative, but there's other interesting bits we didn't. Like for example, apparently SHIELD employed this former Russian/Soviet spy whom they codenamed Black Widow, whom SHIELD and the Soviets believed may have been descended from the actual Romanov family, and may in fact be the granddaughter of none other than Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia herself!

**Reply from SpiderWomanFanGirl99:** You mean like the one from the animated Anastasia movie? Didn't she die in real life though?

**Reply from SpacticBone45:** Apparently not, if the SHIELD files are to be believed. At least the Soviets thought she might have been Anastasia's granddaughter.

**Reply from SpiderWomanFanGirl99:** Huh... What else did you find? Any chance one of the files has the real identity of Spider-Woman in it?

**Reply from SpacticBone45**: Maybe? It's taken us months just to crack the few files we have, so this whole thing could probably take years. Decades even to fully crack. Plus that's the assuming info is there, especially since apparently only a small part of SHIELD's entire database got leaked. Even the previously mentioned bits about Spinerette and Black Widow never revealed their names, just their codenames.

**Reply from Spinerette:** You know, I probably shouldn't have to tell you this considering how stupid it is that your doing it, but publicly admitting to decrypting and revealing information from classified leaked SHIELD documents is a crime in most UN-affiliated nations, including the United States.

**Reply from SpacticBone45:** Crap...

**Reply from GreatPurpleZemo:** Busted!

* * *

"Finally here. What took you so long?"

Cindy looked to the figure leaning against the wall next to her apartment's elevator and raised a brow, "Hey, Pete. You're looking better." She almost didn't recognize him. He didn't look like a 7 year old anymore, which she was sure Gwen would be happy about, and he was dressed differently. Instead of the usual jackets and cargo pants he wore a dark, casual suit and had thick stubble that looked oddly flattering on him.

Next to her, Felicia raised a brow at his appearance and crossed her arms, "And here I thought you had a different kind of makeover, Spider."

"Teresa brought me back. Clothes too." He tugged on the suit's collar with a slight grimace, "Least it's bulletproof..."

"Thought you'd like suits considering the whole 30's thing you've got going," Cindy said.

"Suits aren't made to be fighting or sneaking around in. There's a reason those spy movies you like so much are just fiction." He tugged on the collar again before finally just unbutton the top part of the shirt, "Where are we heading anyway? Your text didn't give much details."

Cindy clicked the elevator button, "I told you that the guy we were interrogating suddenly OD'd, right?" He nodded, "Right, well he got transferred to the city morgue. Jean's already over there and she's making sure we're the only one's near it. Figured you wouldn't want to get near any cops."

"Sure." He stepped into the elevator with them and spoke once the doors closed, "I should probably give you a heads up. My powers are on the fritz right now."

Cindy's eyes narrowed, "What do you mean?"

"I mean that the way Teresa brought me back put a damper on the Spider-God's presents. Still have my spider-sense, but I'm not sure about anything else. You're gonna have to do most of the fighting for us."

"You couldn't have said that before you showed up?" Despite her huffing Cindy didn't really mind all that much. She came here expecting him to still be a 7 year old, after all, "Whatever, just try not to be so...you. Can't dodge bullets now."

"If you say so." He crossed his arms and leaned back first against the wall. Sometimes she wondered if he meant to do that or he just didn't notice how much of a tryhard he sometimes looked, "You sure DeWolff won't cuff me as soon as I step foot in there?"

"Considering she's playing vigilante herself? Not likely."

"She hasn't arrested me so far." Felicia hummed, "Then again I'm a thief, not a vigilante."

"Says the woman who helped me kill a demon last year." Peter scoffed, "...Speaking of, heard you met with Matt."

"You could say that." Felicia's lips curled in a (somehow still graceful) sneer, "I have to admit, Spider, you'd be the last person I expected to be able to stomach working with him. Especially after what he did to your friend."

The side of Peter's mouth twitched and his right hand curled into a fist, "I made a deal with Page. She said she'd make sure Bullseye didn't stay in Hell if I kept Matt on a leash."

"The same Bullseye that's been brought back and attacked your surrogate sister?"

Peter didn't say anything and the rest of the painfully slow ride was spent in uncomfortable silence. Cindy sighed under her breath and just looked at the number ticking down. She still had no idea how Pete's ragtag group didn't kill each other a year ago.

Felicia drove him to the morgue while Cindy swung over them and they discussed the case on the phone, "So the guy just overdosed?" he asked.

"Yeah." She stopped on a flagpole and waited for them to pass the sudden traffic jam, "No needle marks, not even any old ones. We were just interrogating the guy and suddenly he starts OD'ing right in front of us. Heroin overdose every time."

"How many times?"

"Three." Cindy sighed and started swinging again. Down below a bunch of people looked up and started taking pictures with some even asking her to stay and take a few selfies. She ignored them; Gwen could be the social media star, "We pulled up their files too. All of em have rapsheets a mile wide - burglary, muggings, the occasional racist comment - but none of them have any drug charges. They go from being totally clean to overdosing in like a minute."

"My guess is there's powers involved." He muttered something she couldn't make out, "What do you expect me to do? I'm not psychic."

"Just do your thing. You're the best detective from the five of us." She still had no idea how, really. Gwen was the police chief's daughter and Cindy was trained by S.H.I.E.L.D but for some reason Pete still had them beat on that front with just some memories from some guy in the 30's. Who also didn't have any detective training, just to make that even weirder. She didn't question it.

They got to the morgue and the receptionist buzzed them in. DeWolff was already there with a forensics expert. Carlie Cooper, who Jean assured them they could trust. Apparently she was in on DeWolff's side gig. DeWolff raised a brow as soon as she saw them, "Huh...thought you were a 7 year old?"

"You sound disappointed."

"Just wanted to see what all the hype was about. A few of the officers thought you were cute and said they'd feel bad arresting a kid."

"How flattering." He rolled his eyes and accepted the gloves Cooper handed him. He got to work immediately, checking over the eyes, mouth, veins and anything else that drugs could've kicked in from. Cooper helped him while Cindy just watched. She'd already done her fair share of corpse searching and that included what was between his legs. Apparently some real sickos shot up through there. Thought it'd give them a better high cause...reasons.

"I'll admit I have no idea how Spider's going to find anything," Felicia hummed.

"I'm with Black Cat. If trained officers couldn't find anything then I doubt he can."

"Look, do you want help or not? Cause right now he's the best shot we've got."

"You know I still can't believe that I'm in the same room as Black Cat and Spider-Man and I'm not trying to arrest either. If the commish saw us here he'd blow a gasket."

"Times change, Jean. That's the reason I'm here." Cindy smiled wryly and crossed her arms, "'Sides, you put him out of the streets you're gonna have to deal with the crap he deals with. You wanna take over fighting ninjas, demons, vampires, witches, ghosts and whatever else he's dealing with?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll get on that once they gimme a gun that fires silver bullets." Jean snorted.

"He does fight a rather absurd number of Halloween monsters. One would think he'd focus more on normal crime," Felicia said.

"You know I can hear you, right?" Peter said without looking up.

"Less eavesdropping and more investigating," she said cheerily. Despite everything it was nice to work with someone she knew had her back. Felicia was only there because she owed her and Jean was her 'official police liason', which pretty much translated to being a babysitter. Neither of them were really her friends despite all her joking around.

Eventually Peter got something that caught his eye, "Check this out." He gestured to the back of the stiff's head. There was a skull and crossbones tattoo right where the small of their neck was.

"Yeah, I saw that earlier. Didn't really stick out for me."

"It should. This is the symbol of the crossbones gang. It's a small outfit on Yancy street."

"A gang? Then how come we've never heard of it?" DeWolff asked.

"Because they don't get caught. They're small time, DeWolff, and they don't advertise. Most cops don't look at tattoos at the back of the neck and the design is hardly distinct. These clowns fancy themselves a secret society when really they're more an afterschool club."

"So what does this tell us?"

"It tells us his gang might know something." He removed the gloves, "Even nowadays you can't exactly just find aries lying on the street. He had to have a dealer, or at least some way to get the drugs at all. He can't overdose from nothing."

"So we go to Yancy street." Cindy's shoulders sagged. She didn't like the place, and neither did any cops assigned to that beat. While it wasn't as bad as Hell's Kitchen - cause it was pretty hard to beat a place _the devil_ was squatting on - it definitely wasn't a nice place. The reigning gang over in the area were as hardy as cockroaches: any single one you stop was immediately replaced with another. There was a reason people called it 'The ass crack of New York'.

"You know you picked a really bad time to lose all your levels, Pete."

"That's what you're here for." He smiled cheekily.

"I'm sorry, but I have to ask: how exactly do you know about this gang when even the police don't?" Jean asked.

"They slip through the cracks and I catch them. Same with Carter." Jean pursed her lips and glared at him. Cindy still wasn't out by then but she heard all about him stopping the serial killer former cop. Even now she knew a few officers who griped that it made them look bad, cause apparently him catching a serial killer wasn't worth the police getting crapped on by people who'd always find some way to shit on them.

"Could you be a bit more specific?"

"Is this really necessary?" he asked tiredly.

"I already have my doubts on this so humor me."

"Fine. One of their members worked for Owlsley and he sent them to try and kill my aunt and uncle after my identity got exposed. So I asked him who sent them and when he refused I shot his pecker off." Cindy winced while Felicia actually laughed, more out of exasperation than anything else. DeWolff's eyes narrowed while Cooper just looked uncomfortable, "I ran into another member when I was gathering info. You probably found him in the pile of other mooks in the Dead End bar."

Jean gripped her arm hard and took a long, deep breath. Peter didn't say anything and just looked at her passively, "...Right thank you for clarifying that." She turned to Cindy, "Could I talk to you alone for a sec?"

"Uh, I'll show you two out," Cooper said.

Jean was on her as soon as the door closed, "Are you sure this is a good idea?" Cindy sighed. She knew this was coming, "I know I can't judge considering my side-activities and how I tried to work with Spider-Woman before she was declared innocent but Spider-Man's a different kind of beast altogether. I don't think him being anywhere near a police investigation is a good idea."

"But it worked, didn't it? We wouldn't have a single lead if he wasn't here. You didn't know about that gang and I sure as hell didn't. Like him or not we'd be stuck without him."

"This is just..." Jean paused, trying to find the words, "Do you trust him?"

"Honestly? He's one of the people I do trust."

"Yeah, well, maybe you should pick your friends better."

Cindy raised a brow. She was going there, was she? "No offense, but I don't really care what you think about him. I don't trust you, I don't trust Felicia- I don't trust a lot of people. Comes with the whole 'trapped in a bunker for ten years cause I trusted the wrong person' thing. Pete's one of the few people I do trust so if it's between him and you then it's him."

"So you condone everything he does?"

"Of course not. I trust him, I'm not _blind_. I know he's had his share of fuck ups, but guess what? We spent a year dealing with demon possessed lawyers and an evil version of me who wanted to play god while the police and half of S.H.I.E.L.D did screw all to help. So yeah, I trust him more than I trust most people. And I'll be honest - I would've beat bars full of thugs too if they tried to murder my parents for some cannibal crimelord."

DeWolff sighed, "I guess there's no point in arguing this, is there?"

"Not really, but I get the feeling that's not really what you really asked me to stay behind. Spill it."

"Fine. How long are you going to be 'on loan' with us?"

"Trying to get rid of me already?" she smiled sardonically, "Honestly? I don't know. Cap just told me to go here as a favor and she was right about you guys needing the help." Hell, she was set to give them instructions on how to use the new prototype webshooters Wasp was rolling out for police use in a few months. Nevermind the fact that she didn't use one like Gwen did.

"Yeah. As much as Masters and a couple of other old timers bitch we need help. We just aren't equipped to deal with clowns who can phase through walls or jump 50 feet in the air while chucking energy beams."

"What's your point?"

"My point is, would you consider making this a permanent gig?"

"...Alright, I'm waiting for the punchline."

"Not joking. I'm not so proud that I can't admit we don't need your help. Look, as much as Masters and a few other assholes give you shit we really do appreciate the help you've given us. Hell, we wouldn't have been able to rescue those hostages from Boomerang if you didn't swing in and your help on the attack at the Symkarian embassy saved a lot of lives. And that's just two incidents."

"Didn't you just get finished telling me my choice in friends suck?"

"Like you said, everyone has their share of fuckups."

"Charming." She rolled her eyes. DeWolff was honest but she definitely wasn't a charmer. Cindy liked that about her, "Look, even if I wanted to - and I'm not saying I am - I'm still an Avenger. Kinda of a step down, don't you think?"

"Considering your credentials it wouldn't take much to get you formally deputized. Pass a Police Academy crash course with that photographic memory of yours and voila, Spider-Cop. It's not like the Avengers go on patrol so unless you're doing your saving the world thing you could still do this."

"Again, assuming that's what I wanna do," Cindy replied neutrally, "I'm gonna be honest, Jean. I like you, and I like most of the other officers, but I'm not sure being a cop's right for me. I'm not blind enough to think assholes like Masters are the rare, never before seen breed. It just takes a single internet search to see some of the things cops do to innocent people and...after S.H.I.E.L.D and the Carnage symbiote I'm not sure I wanna latch myself into another ship full of holes."

She'd seen the news stories. A few years ago it was cops beating on a bum or someone with different skin color. Now the Gifted were the main targets She'd seen a life coach who got transformed by that damn peanut mist getting harassed by her landlord and the neighborhood beat cops just cause she had the bad luck to change physically without getting any powers to fight back. Even sending her to She-Hulk's law firm to get help felt bittersweet.

Then again did she really have any room to judge? She was friends with Pete and she knew for a fact that Mary Jane was going on a serial killing spree and wasn't doing anything to stop it. Jean probably wouldn't have asked her if she knew about the latter.

"I know that. Even back when I was a rookie we had cops taking bribes and beating on people because they were on a power trip. I know Masters is a racist asshole who doesn't like anyone he considers a 'freak' and even before the Gifted show up people used any excuse to hate someone else. I know that. But you must've seen good cops and I do think you can do a lot of good here. Just give it some thought, yeah?"

"...Sure, but right now we've got a case to solve. Maybe when I put Scorpion behind bars I can think about it."

She met up with Peter and Felicia outside, "What took you so long?" Peter took a long drag of his cigarette and coughed slightly.

"Something wrong?"

"Nothing. Smoking just feels different without my powers. Can actually feel the burning in my lungs."

"Welcome to your first taste of humanity, Spider. I hope you enjoy it." Felicia smirked, "By the way, I won't be joining you on your trip down to the wasteland. Jane just called me and said Murdock is offering her help with something. I'll be going to keep an eye on them both."

"You know you've got a really loose definition of 'I'll help you with your cases in exchange for your help with my revenge'," Cindy snarked.

"Just let her go. It's better for her to be watching over Mary than interrogating gang members with us." He gave one final exhale then stamped the cigarette under his loafers, "Come on, let's get this over with."

* * *

**TrueOutsider:** Alright we gotta talk some real shit. **Spider-Woman** being a feminist icon? Bullshit.

**Reply from Powernod:** Where'd this come from ?

**Reply from TrueOutsider: **I'm just sick of hearing it all the time. My college classmates gush about her all the time and it's so damn cringey. I mean she got bitten by a radioactive spider and now she has powers. Okay? She didn't earn that or anything. Anyone could do that. We gonna worship people like Tony Stark who got money cause of their dad too?

**Reply from blackWOLF: **I agree. Hell, I'm tired of her being touted as something for the LGBT community too. So just cause she says she's bi suddenly it means she's one of us? I mean we've never even seen her dating anyone but guys! **TrueOutsider** is right, anyone can look brave when they've got a random lottery supwerpower.

**Reply from bulanet2: ** Really? Anyone? So you could've dealt with the entire city calling you a murderer, the police hunting you down and being attacked by villains? You could've kept being a hero when the people you saved spat on you? Really?

**Reply from TrueOutsider: **She had powers. Sticks and stones can't break her bones.

**Reply from Gray Daze - **Bullshit. I grew up rich and took up sports. Guess what? Didn't stop it from hurting when assholes shit on me for my choices. You two sound just like those pricks.

**Reply from bulanet2: **Most people don't admire her because she has powers, it's because of what she did with them. You don't see most of us celebrating _Alpha_, do you? Spider-Woman did something with her powers. Griping that the woman who helped _save the world _is so damn stupid I'm getting an aneurysm.

**Reply from FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman: **Thanks **bulanet2**. Yeah, I'll be the first to admit I didn't do anything to get these powers, but I'm doing my best to earn them. Every person I help, every charity event I go to, it's because of these powers and I'm trying to make sure I use them the best I can. If that's not good enough for some people then I don't care. I've given up trying to please everyone and I never asked to be an icon or anything.

* * *

"Care for a dance, miss?"

Mary Jane's lips puckered in distaste and she turned to catch Murdock's cocky gaze. He looked different, swapping out his usual suit for a pair of jeans, black sneakers and a dull gray hoodie pulled up to mask his face. The only thing that he kept on that she recognized were the piercing red sunglasses that hid his milky gray eyes from view. Even his cane was gone, which just looked weird.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she hissed. She'd just gotten the tracker placed on Frankie and gotten a text from Gwen that the Bullseye killer was here when her would-be partner showed up. Just cause she told Gwen she'd work together with him didn't mean she liked him dropping in unannounced.

"Just looking for a dance." He tilted his shades just enough to expose the pale irises underneath.

"Tell me what you're doing here or I'll punch you so hard, you'll see."

"Hmm, that's a rare threat." He gestured to the camera wall where one of the cameras was, "I'd rather not talk here. It's rather suspicious when a man and a stripper just engage in long, casual conversation, don't you think?"

"And that makes it okay for me to sleaze it up for you?"

"If it's any comfort my condition means I can only see people as outlines. Your chastity is safe from my prying eyes, scout's honor. Now," He leaned forward and made a show of pressing a stack of bills in her hand, "Let's find a private room and ensure Karen's choice to send you aid isn't wasted."

Mary Jane bit back a snarl and eventually led him to one of the spare rooms. There was still a camera there, but she turned the music up loud enough to drown out any conversation. Good thing these things weren't high quality, "Just sit down and don't touch me. If you try anything I'll snip it off."

"Not to worry, Ms. Jade, I'll be a perfect gentleman." He leaned back into the chair and she tried to find a rhythm with the way too loud techno pop song. It was one of Felicia's old hits, just to add insult to injury.

True to his word Murock kept perfectly still, staring blankly past her while his glasses kept his eyes hidden from view. For all the outside world could see he was just a sunglasses wearing weirdo who wanted a dance, "So why are you here?" she asked when she pressed herself up against him.

"Karen sent me. She believes that this Bianchie fellow, whether he's aware of it or not, could be connected to the Hand or perhaps even that Roxxon fellow kidnapping innocent people and placing a bounty on Peter's head. The latter specifically is of particular interest to me."

"Why? You do know Tiger hates you, right?" She scoffed.

"Love makes one do strange things. You would know, wouldn't you?" She almost tripped and fell on her face at the nonchalant confession. Love? Did he mean... "And yes, I mean in the romantic sense. I can 'see' you're curious about it." He grinned up at her.

She shook her head and got back to pace, "Dude, he hates you. As in he tried to _kill_ you last year and he'd probably do it again if your weird girlfriend didn't dangle that deal in front of him. How does that make any sense?"

"Since when is love ever sensible? And I don't think you, of all people, can claim a right to rationality." MJ paused and her heart rate sped up? Did he know? "After all, not many rational people would make a deal with a murderous symbiote."

"...Yeah, guess not." She shook her head. Why the hell did she care what he thought? "So you're here to be my 'partner'. Fine, just don't get in my way. And I'm telling Gwen so you can't lord it over her later."

"Lord it over her? I would never!"

She finished the routine by putting her leg against the wall inches from his face. He laughed under his breath and made his way out while she called both Gwen and Felicia and told them the situation. This was gonna be a long day.

* * *

**Shi Oh: **Anyone miss the days before **Spider-Man **sold out?

**Reply from Datura: **wdym?

**Reply from Shi Oh: **Like over a year ago he was fighting the real crims. Serial killers, crime bosses, the guys who picked on the little guy. Now every time you turn up the news it's cause he fought ninjas or demons or werewolves or some shit. Wtf happened?

**Reply from Kappa Emote: **...Implying that those things _don't _pick on the little guy? The vampires took over a whole freaking school!

**Reply from andr****ewmogue: **Yeah, I live in Hell's Kitchen. Ever since that demon tick thing got killed things have been way better. Like...that heavy feeling of 'shit is hopeless' is just gone.

**Reply from Shi Oh: **I still miss the old Spider-Man, before he went to hard fantasy.

**Reply from DarkSpider: **You do realize I still deal with that stuff, right? Just cause I don't take one of those 'selfies' at a crime scene and post it online doesn't mean it didn't happen.

**Reply from Shi Oh: **How do we know you're not just saying that?

**Reply from DarkSpider: **I don't care if you believe me. I didn't get into this for public approval. I'm one guy and there are monsters everywhere. You really think I can stop every crime boss in the city on top of the monsters coming out of the woodwork? If so you're insane. Try asking the cops to fight demons and vampires. Would lighten up my workload.

**Reply from layla:** Don't actually do that. My daughter got possessed a week ago and the police couldn't do anything. Spider-Man managed to exorcise her, Thank God.

**Reply from DarkSpider: **Just make sure she doesn't play with Ouija boards again. Demons are a difficult to send back...

* * *

**So we've got three segments - Peter and Cindy investigating Yancy Street gang; Gwen and Kate investigating the Scorpion weapons shipment; and Mary Jane, Felicia and Matt tracking the Maggia goon. I'll also be showing Lana's recovery the next chapter so pick one among the three you'd like to see first. The other two will show up in the chapter after the next. **

**Anyway, we've got a victory for Gwen with her managing to take out Bullseye. I'm sure that'll last and his role in the story is over. Totally. **

**Questions:**

**1\. What do you guys think of post story segments? Spider-Island is the planned finale but I do have some story ideas that don't really fit into any overarching main plot. Would you guys still like those even if there's no longer any overarching story to tie stuff together after SI?**

**2\. How's the romance so far? I've gotten comments from RL friends that think Peter and Gwen need to interact more casually like the carnival date chapter. Do they not feel like enough of a couple or something?**

**Review Answers:**

**Brave2000: A whole arc? It'd be interesting but also kind of narm-y since it'd have to be with the Defenders shrunk like the other prisoners. Kinda kills the mood when you realize all these action scenes are with people action figure sized.**

**Hardlight: Raft is more secure now due to shrink tech. That and I dunno what pleasant hill is like.**

**Raw Prodigy - My fanfic isn't any different from the millions of other fics on this site, so not really.**

**Shadi22 - Yeah, I'll fix that at some point. Not knowledgable on foreign naming.**

**Dr. Sugarcakes - Cindy's getting a new ongoing so hey. **

**retrogunner7 - I think you are since no one else questions it. Same with Gwen stopping a nuclear apocalypse, fighting skrulls and stopping a kaiju.**


	39. Slow Recoveries

**Woof, feels like the end of days out there. Hopefully everyone's safe :/ Not much response last chapter, but considering current events I'm not surprised. I made most of this chapter lighter cause of it. Didn't wanna feel too heavy writing this.**

**I'll be asking the next chapter's events in the bottom AN so read if interested. Stay safe everyone. **

* * *

**TooWOKEforthisworld:** Alright I just gotta say it. **Spinerette**, you should be ashamed of yourself.

**Reply from Spinerette: **Say what now?

**Reply from TooWOKEforthisworld:** Your behavior. Kids, mine included, look up to you and what kind of example are you showing? Going on dating apps to sleep with random men? Drinking in bars like some kind of drunken frat girl? Is this really the right example to be setting?

**Reply from Spinerette: **Huh, so me doing the thing that most adults do is wrong now. What next, maybe I should stop in the middle of a fight and start talking about the power of friendship? Maybe wear a chastity belt and purity ring?

**Reply from TooWOKEforthisworld: **There's no need to be rude, young lady! I'm just giving you some constructive criticism, that's all. People look up to you and it's your responsibility to follow that standard.

**Reply from Spinerette: **No, my responsibility is stopping criminals; what I do in my free time is none of anyone's business. You don't see me dictating how you should act, Ms. Mom of the year.

**Reply from TooWOKEforthisworld: **Please, like stopping criminals is hard when you have powers handed to you. It's much harder to be a good role model. Think on that.

**Reply from Spinerette: **Funny, a quick check on your profile shows that you went drinking with your 'gal pals' and your kids are nowhere in sight. How about you stop foisting the responsibility of your kids growing up on me and act like an actual parent? Even someone who's a 'three time divorcee and proud of it' should be able to do that, right? Or is lazing around all day cause you have child support your way of teaching your kids?

**Reply from Spinerette: **And she blocked me.

**Reply from ScarletSpider: **Lol.

* * *

Lana woke up feeling like absolute shit.

Her eyes parted open and she groaned softly. Her voice came out rough and dry and her throat felt like she'd swallowed bleach, "Wh-Where...?" She'd barely managed to adjust to the brightness of the lights overhead when she heard an all too familiar voice and she found herself being pulled up in a bonecrushing embrace.

"Lana! Lana, you're alive! _¡Gracias a Dios!_" Aracely cried, rambling to her in a mix of English and Spanish. Lana found her throat too dry to complain that the hug wasn't helping. Instead she looked past the crying teenager to the rest of the occupants in the room. There was her mom standing next to Lily with the rest of her friends crowding around outside. Next to the bed she caught sight of Teresa standing with her arms crossed and a slight smile on her face while a doctor observed close-by.

"I think Lana would like some space, Ms. Aracely." Teresa pulled the crying girl off her gently before sitting down at the bedside and placing a hand on Lana's gut. She winced at the contact, "It still hurts?"

"Yeah..." she rasped out, "So much for that healing factor..."

"Hellfire does have a way of rendering those inert." Teresa hummed softly then stood and turned to the doctor, "She should be fine. The cleansing has removed all traces of corruption from her system. A couple of days with no strenuous activities and she should be good to go."

"Normally I'd cast some doubts on that, but the results speak for themselves." The tan man - Dr. Strange, according to his nametag - said, "Incidentally, I'd be very interested in the method you used to heal her. Chi, was it?"

"Yes, though I'm afraid it wouldn't be very practical for widespread use. It requires more than reading books to learn-"

"Where's Bullseye?" Lana stood and, before, anyone could stop her, ripped the IV needles from her right hand. The holes bled white-yellow fluid before the wound immediately healed. Least it was still working there.

"Lana, don't." Her mom was at her side immediately to try and set her down.

"Where's-"

"Spider-Woman has dealt with him." Lana stopped at that. Spider-Gwen did? "Granted I wasn't present there myself, but I saw it well enough. Lester's been incapacitated and right now he's on his way to Ryker's."

"She didn't kill him..." She let her mom push her back to the bed in a sitting position. Lily handed her a glass of water which she drank down greedily, "...You know he's going to escape, right?"

"I wasn't there, Lana, and neither was Peter. If he was I imagine that he wouldn't be breathing once again." Pete...shit, she almost forgot about him. A feeling of shame washed over her. He warned her about that bald prick and she'd brushed it off. She figured with her new powers she'd kick his ass. What could he do with her now that she could survive a shotgun exploding her head?

Well, she got her answer.

"I suggest you not worry about him for now and focus on recovery." She tapped her phone (how was she blind again?) and hummed, "I'm sorry, but I really must be going. The wound should fully heal within a couple of days but I'd suggest avoiding strenuous activities for at least a few days even after that. Hellfire damages the soul and negative thoughts will only slow your recovery."

"Yeah, I'll just take up yoga." Lana scoffed as the older woman left. She turned to her mom and Lily, "How long was I out?"

"5 days," Lily said. Lana did her best to ignore the slight redness in Lily's eyes from crying. She felt guilty enough as it was.

"Guess that's more lessons I'll have to catch up on." She grabbed the side of the bed and pushed herself up. Again her mom was at her side to help her keep balance. Lana smiled wryly at her, "...This really isn't how I wanted to see you again, mom."

"Heh, same." Her mom tried to smile but it only lasted for a few seconds before the frown returned, "Listen, kiddo, we need to talk."

"About what?" The side of her mouth twitched at the nickname.

"Not here. I'd prefer if we were alone." She gave a pointed glance Lily's way and Lana sighed. Her mom didn't trust William, which was all well and good cause he was human garbage, but that same distrust extended to Lily despite the latter's efforts to try and mend bridges. Lana got why, though, so she didn't try too hard to change her mind. The last time she tried that they got into an argument and didn't talk to each other for a week.

"Oh...should I leave the room?"

"No, you don't have-"

"Actually, I'd suggest you all leave the room," Dr. Strange cut in, "Despite your...odd recovery it's customary that I do a final round of checkups to ensure your health. You can all continue your conversation afterwards."

"But-"

"It's fine, Aracely. I'll talk to you later, okay?" Lana smiled at the younger girl. She frowned and, after a few seconds of silence, eventually nodded and followed her mom and Lily out of the room.

Dr. Strange did the usual - heartbeat, eyesight, checking if everything was where it should be. Thanks to her powers she didn't have any wounds on her except for the nasty scar in her gut. She took off the gown as soon as she was behind the divider and pressed her fingertips against the marred skin, "Tch..." Still stung, but less than before. Figured she'd lose the shotgun scars just to get another mark. God really didn't her to wear swimsuits again.

She changed into the clothes - a white blouse, dark skirt and peach flats - on autopilot. She was so tired that she didn't even bother complaining that it wasn't something she'd wear if she had a choice; anything was better than that damn gown. She put the flats on last and looked at her reflection in the nearby mirror. Apart from the fact that she looked like she was poorly copying Sue she looked fine. Not at all like someone who spent a week in a coma.

"Bullseye..." Energy surged through her clenched right hand and she breathed out softly. First that bastard Murderdock was still running around and now Bullseye was even more of a psychopath than he already was. At this rate she expected Punisher to come out as a pacifist.

Her friends greeted her happily when she was out. It was all hugs and kisses and all that sappy shit. Lana smiled slightly and tried not to feel too awkward with all the attention. As much as she hated to admit it she knew she had abandonment issues - came with the whole 'bastard daughter of a human shitstain' thing she had going. Despite that she didn't like being the center of attention. She was fine with knowing the people she loved were there and she could reach them if she wanted.

"Guys, as nice as this is I gotta talk to my mom first, okay? I'll meet you all outside."

She followed her mom to the hospital food court and she ordered practically everything on the menu. So sue her, she hadn't eaten in a week, "What did you wanna talk about?" She dug into the cup noodles and sighed in relief. Nothing like cheap, dollar store crap to remind her she was alive.

"It's about your Initiative thing." Lana paused mid-bite and looked up at her mom with a raised brow, "I'll be straight with you, Lana. Ever since you got your powers I've had my doubts about you doing the whole hero business."

"Uh...what the fuck happened to you encouraging me to be a hero? You remember that?" Lana couldn't stop the bitterness from seeping into her tone. It was a bittersweet memory. The first time her mom told her to be a hero was the same time she had to leave the city to avoid being targeted.

"That was before I saw the news." She pursed her lips, "Do you know how it felt turning on the TV and finding out you got kidnapped by some pumpkin head murderer? Or how about the fact that I couldn't even visit you because you still thought that I'd get my head blown off the second I got into city limits."

"We were fighting the Kingpin, mom. Could you blame me for being worried?"

"That's another thing: you getting dragged into that fight that had nothing to do with you." Lana's eyes narrowed in a glare. Her mom didn't care, "It was bad enough when you got injured or that fucker William using you as his own personal mascot, but then you got caught up with that group of psychopaths and you were branded a criminal. You were barely 16, Lana. You were too young to get involved in that shit."

"Pete was 18 when it happened." Besides, she doubted anyone could be old enough to fight a fucking demon.

"Spider-Man's another story entirely. Listen, kiddo-"

"Don't call me a kid!" Lana snapped. She slammed her hands on the table and stood up to glare down at her mom. Her calm composure finally dropped and she looked up at her with wide eyes, "I'm sick and fucking tired of people calling me that. Yeah, I was the youngest in that group of assholes, but so what? I helped fight a fucking _devil!_ I pulled my weight even if I fucked up sometimes!"

"Lana-"

"You don't think I feel bad enough that asshole Bullseye laid me up? Cause I do." She was vaguely aware that people were staring at her but she was too pissed to care, "But guess what? I'm not gonna let that fucker scare me to hiding in my room. He ain't the worst I've fought and he won't be the last. So no, I'm not going to stop being a hero cause I got put in the hospital. It's gonna happen and I'll deal with it. I always do."

Her mom didn't say anything. Lana let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding and sat back down, trying to ignore the stares and whispers from the people around her. Maybe she was too hard on her, but fuck it. She was tired of being treated like a kid, like someone the grown ups had to keep away cause she was too young to handle it. She thought she'd done enough to prove herself.

"...I'm just worried about you," her mom said softly, "I...I was never the best mom, but I always thought I did a decent enough job keeping you from danger. Now I can't do anything while you're getting shot at, put in the hospital, put on the run..."

"That's not your fault, mom." Lana sighed again, "Sue had this talk with me a couple of weeks ago, believe it or not. I'll you the same thing I told her: it's just part of my life now. Spider-Girl and MVP do the same thing, that's the reason we went through that Initiative training. Hell, MVP's got it even worse than I do since he doesn't even have powers but he doesn't let that stop him."

"You sure I can't convince you to at least take it easy for a while?"

"Maybe for a few days while I'm healing up from Bullseye's little present, but I'll be out there soon enough. It's either that or I do some more ribbon cutting with William and I'd honestly prefer getting shot." The only time she stomached it was when the charity appearances actually made those fatcats (another word she got from Pete) open up their wallets. Least then it felt worthwhile.

"Yeah..." Her mom actually smiled at that. Success, "I just...I want you to be safe. That's not wrong, is it?"

"No, but I can't just stop being Striker. I don't like being in danger either, just so you know. Just comes with the territory."

"Yeah...well, I've said my piece. It's your choice in the end."

"I know. Thanks, mom."

After promising she wouldn't do anything dangerous for the rest of the day her mom and Lily allowed her to go out with her friends. It was nice being out of the hospital with her friends again. Sure they were all still worried about her, especially Sue (worrywart) and Aracely, but for the most part things felt normal again. It was enough to almost make her forget about what happened a week ago.

They were at a pizza place munching on the buffet deal (she was hungry) when Anya got a call on her phone, "Hello- huh? How did you? Okay, okay, here she is! Rude..." She offered Lana the phone and the latter took it without a word.

"Hello?"

"Lana." She nearly jumped out of her seat at the all too familiar voice.

"Hey, Pete..." She couldn't stop herself from smiling dopily. Across from her Anya snickered behind her hand and Lana gave her the middle finger, "You sound...normal. Finally back to your usual, grouchy self?"

"Very funny." She caught his slight laugh, "Yeah, Teresa fixed me before she got to you. Just got told you were awake so I thought I'd call. Sorry I couldn't be there. I'm with Cin right now and we're doing some investigating."

"Yeah, I figured you were doing something like that. I really wanna help you out but my jailers here really wanna make sure I don't do anything." She stuck her tongue out at Sue. The blonde looked offended for a second before she gave a raspberry in turn. Rude, "Just make sure you take care of yourself. I won't be there to bail you out if you get in trouble and Cin's got enough on her plate."

"So she tells me."

"Hey...you heard that Bullseye got caught by Spider-Woman? Teresa told me he's on his way to the raft," she said the next part in a whisper.

"...She didn't tell me. I'll talk to Teresa about sharing news when I catch up with her." Oops, looks like she got her in trouble. Oh well, "Just take care of yourself. We can talk when we finish up here."

"Sure." She cut the call and handed the phone back to a smirking Anya. She didn't like that look on her face, "...What?"

"I thought you were over your crush?"

"I _am_."

"Didn't sound like it."

"...MVP, Anya had a wet dream about you a week ago!" The Spider started sputtering at the sudden declaration. Lana ignored Anya's attempts at an explanation and turned to Sue and Gabriel, "Speaking of crushes, how're you two doing? You finally went out on a date?"

"Ah...no. We haven't exactly been able to do much since we were so worried about you," Gabe said.

"Aw, come on. I just got stabbed and put in a coma. No big deal, right?"

"That's not funny, Lana..." Sue whispered. The rest of the table suddenly grew quiet too, "Gabriel's right, we were all sick with worry for you. When we brought you to the hospital and the wounds didn't stop we...I thought that you'd..."

"...Okay, bad joke." Lana winced and rubbed the back of her head awkwardly, "Look, could we just...not make a big deal out of this?"

"How could we not?" MVP looked at her worriedly, "You got attacked by that Bullseye guy with some kind of knife that stopped you from healing."

"Yeah, and before that I got my head blown up with a shotgun." Sue and Gabriel winced at that. Aracely just looked confused, "Could we just...not turn this into a worryfest? I got enough of that from mom and Lily. Yeah, I got careless and let that crazy asshole stab me, but I'm still around and he's going to jail. And if he gets out again then I'll be ready next time."

"You mean _we'll_ be ready next time," Anya said, "The only reason you got caught is cause you insisted on staying behind. The lone wolf crap is cool but it's not so good when you need someone to watch your back. Next time something happens don't go all Sauron with that 'You shall not pass' shit. Let us help you."

"Fine, fine! I promise I won't do things on my own next time!" A pause, "...Except Sue and Gabe. They can run."

"No arguments there," Gabe said.

"Offended, but agreed." Sue nodded.

"Does that mean I can fight too?" Aracely seemed weirdly excited about that, "Will you teach me how to fight? I think I can learn quickly because of my powers."

"Let's deal with that later, 'kay? Right now I'm still trying to walk around without feeling like I got punched in the gut."

Their afternoon hangout was interrupted when a squad of police cars passed by, sirens blaring, "...That's not a good sign." Lana said.

"Hmm, according to this there's a new Supervillain out." Gabriel set his Upad on the table to show footage of a guy in a full body suit spewing ice everywhere, "Apparently he's calling himself Blizzard."

"How original." Anya rolled her eyes and stood, "Come on then, Michael, let's deal with this."

"Got it."

"I'll come with-"

"_No_." Anya stared down at her pointedly, "I see you anywhere near there I'll sign you up for an appearance on the save the frog foundation."

"...You wouldn't."

"I have their number. Don't test me." She looked to Sue, "Make sure she gets back to the dorm, would you? It's the weekend so we can have visitors over and even if they don't...well, you're Sue Storm. They'll let you in."

"Good to know that's good for something." Sue laughed.

"Guess that's it for our hangout." Lana sighed while MVP and Anya rushed out. Technically Anya hadn't revealed her identity yet but nowadays she hadn't done much to hide it either. Maybe she just didn't care anymore. Shaking her head, she reached across the table and clapped Gabriel on the shoulder, "Could you make sure Aracely makes it back, too? I wanna make sure she doesn't wander off again."

"I only did that once..." Aracely pouted.

"If by once you mean once a day for a whole week then yes, but even that's being generous." She smirked, "Come on, Sue, let's head back to my cell."

The walk back felt like she really was going to prison. If there was one bright side about being in the hospital it was that she wasn't at this place. Thankfully most of the prissy little witches were out for the day so she didn't cause a scene when she came in with Sue Storm in tow. Those fucking harpies would've swarmed them asking for selfies and tweeter follows if they saw Sue.

"So this is where you live?" Sue looked around the dorm room with a soft hum.

"Yeah, it does the job." Lana sat on the bed and tossed the flats away without a care. Her gut was still pounding but apart from that she was good. She tried not too think too much about what she and her mom talked about. It wasn't like she didn't get why she worried, but they'd both have to live with it. Being a hero wasn't easy and unlike what Frog-Boy and millions of starstruck teenagers thought it wasn't all fun and games. She'd already made peace with the fact that there was a good chance her luck would run out one day and she'd end up like Bullseye did.

Hopefully no one would bring her back as a fucked up zombie when it did.

She grabbed for the packet of cigarettes and lighter she hid between the mattress and headboard. Sue didn't say anything when she lit the cancer stick and took a slow drag. Yes she quit a year ago, but she'd bought a pack just out of nostalgia before she got stabbed in the gut. Now her gut was pounding and she needed something to take her mind off it. If Spider-Gwen and the rest of these prissy princesses didn't like it then tough shit.

Sue stood awkwardly, hands wringing together and looking at everywhere but Lana. Lana sighed and flopped down on her back, still smoking idly. Of course Sue would still be weird. She'd heard the stories before but it was the first time she'd been there in the thick of it. She was surprised the blonde was as calm as she was. Before this the worst she'd had to deal with was that stalker Gabe dealt with.

She needed to fill the noise.

"So when are you asking Gabe out for real?"

The blonde's cheeks reddened slightly. Sue took a deep breath and sat next to Lana, copying her flop so they both stared up at the ceiling. It felt like the sleepovers she and Lily had when she was younger, "...I'm not sure I will," she said eventually, "I know you told him to try us going out but I can tell he still likes you."

"That's just cause he only just found out you liked him. He's intimidated. I mean think about it. A year ago he was the worst weed dealer in the entire city and now he's got America's Sweetheart crushing on him."

"I'm not sure. Gabriel always treated me like I was just Sue. He didn't fanboy or act like he wanted an autograph even when we first met. It's one of the things I like about." She smiled that picture perfect smile of hers. Lana was tempted to take a pic and send it to Gabe; that'd make him fall in love in a second, "And...he said he was worried about how badly it'd blow back on me. The people celebrities go out with tend to get a lot of attention, especially if they're not another celeb. People get curious."

"Don't I know it." Lana rolled her eyes. She'd seen the assholes who thought she and Sue were secretly an item, cause apparently two girls couldn't be just friends nowadays. It had to be cause they wanted to eat each other out. Even some of her classmates thought so.

"...Why didn't you go out with him? I can tell you think highly of him." There she went with that fancy way of speaking. Did her parents raise her a monastery or something?

"I already told you." Lana sighed and took another drag. She didn't like dwelling on this, "Look, Anya's right. I'm not completely over Pete yet and I don't wanna make him or MVP or anyone else 'wait for me'. Besides, I think you two look cute."

"You're just saying that." She actually giggled at that.

Lana grinned in turn and grabbed Sue's right hand with her left and raised it, "Nah, I can just-"

That was when she heard it. An explosion, soft but definitely unmistakable. At first she was tempted to just blow it off as a chemistry experiment gone wrong before she saw the all too familiar pink mist outside her window, "...Shit." She stood up suddenly and looked outside, "Peanut mist is back."

"You mean the terrigen mist?"

"Yeah, dunno what it's doing here though..." She got rid of the cigarette and turned back to Sue, "We should probably get you and everyone else outta here. Unless you wanna stay behind and take a gamble on getting superpowers?"

"I'll stay away, thanks."

Lana led Sue to the back entrance after knocking on everyone's door to warn them. It wasn't really _dangerous, _per se. Either nothing happened to you or you got a power that had a 99% chance of being useless. Still, better safe than sorry, "Might wanna cover your nose." Lana told Sue. The blonde nodded and covered the lower half of your face as a touch of the mist swept over them before they managed to make it out.

They were out of school bounds by the time they talked, "You alright?" Lana asked.

"Yes. I breathed a little in but apart from a peanut smell nothing dangerous."

"Right. I'm gonna go back and check in on what happened. You go home."

"See you around." They shared their secret handshake and Sue went the opposite direction, calling an Ooper on her phone to take her back to her penthouse. The smell of the mist lingered in her nostrils and she coughed, "Superpowers...heh, right." She shook her head in amusement and placed her phone back in her pocket, unaware of the device briefly turning invisible at her touch.

* * *

"Here."

"Thanks."

Peter handed Cindy the cup of (way too sugary) coffee and they started walking towards the address of one Raymond Burns - or, as he was known around the community, Ol' Dickless. It wasn't a euphemism. There weren't too many eunuchs nowadays (comparing to the normal populace, at least), especially not a criminal in New York. For a lot of them the size of their pecker was as valuable as the other kind of heat they were packing.

Wouldn't take too much to interrogate him. Sure blowing his gun off wasn't an option anymore but there were a lot of other things he could take if asking nicely wasn't enough. Cindy suggested a bribe - apparently Ol' Dickless wasn't doing too well and he'd do anything for money - but Peter wasn't much inclined to it. He was one of the hired goods who tried to murder Ben and May. He was lucky to still be alive.

He lit a cigarette and quickened his pace a bit to catch up to Cindy's quick strides. Without his powers he'd quickly realized just how much slower he was. Everything felt...normal now from the slight heaviness in his eyes to the way the nicotine burned his lungs. He coughed after the second deep inhale and waved a hand through the smoke in front of his face. Felt...better without the numbing the Spider-God usually did.

Cindy looked back and slowed her steps till they were walking side-by-side again. Peter didn't say anything and just nodded to her in thanks. A part of of him felt bad for slowing her down but he knew that if she found out he felt that way she'd flick him in the forehead for being an idiot. Cindy was always like that. She hated when people put themselves down, especially the people she liked.

Peter eyed his partner idly. She looked different and all too similar. A light green longcoat, a dark red sweater, black jean leggings, high heeled boots and gloves covering the entirety of her hands. The same outfit she wore when they met 'her' family a year prior, the same kind of style her mad scientist counterpart usually wore. Cindy said she didn't wanna look like Spinerette and this was the way she did it.

Not that she didn't stuck out in a place like this. Yancy Street wasn't wasn't as bad as Hell's Kitchen - nothing in this city could match that cesspool - but that wasn't much of a compliment. You couldn't go past a street without running into a bum with a sob story and every car that they passed was an old beater that looked a decade too late for its last checkup.

Peter dropped a ten dollar bill on a bum who didn't have a left arm. Wouldn't help him much, but the other Spider-Man's lessons socialism stuck around, "Could I ask some directions." He flashed another twenty and the bum nodded eagerly, "This is the way to Brookhaven apartments, yeah?"

"Yessir. Just another couple a' blocks down then take a right. Can't miss."

"Thanks."

He dropped the twenty and caught up to Cindy. She raised a brow when they were side by side again, "You know I could've just looked up a map on phone, right? Phones have everything nowadays."

"Word gets around neighborhoods like this. A guy in a suit with deep pockets is someone you wanna make friends with. That'll be useful later."

"You just wanted to give that guy money, no need to hide it." Cindy grinned slightly and bumped her right shoulder to his left, "You know, it's been a while since we hung out just the two of us."

"This is hardly us 'hanging out', Cin. Not unless you have some really deranged ideas of fun."

"Ten years in a bunker, Pete. Messes up the mind." He rolled his eyes. She _always_ used that excuse.

"You know, I remember you not being as thoroughly messed up when we first got out of your twin's butcher house. Remember when you thought it was disturbing when me and Osborn interrogated that guy?"

"Oh yeah, our first team-up. Before I realized just how much of a fucked up guy Gobby was and kinda still is." She laughed under her breath, "Yeah, I remember. S.H.I.E.L.D's training has a way of really hardening you. Made me remember all of the training Ezekiel had to make me into his perfect 'Hunter'. Then I found out about what they did with the Carnage Killer's symbiote and I just stopped caring."

"Well, I think you scare Gwen."

"Funny considering she was the one who fought Godzilla a few months ago. You know she almost stepped on me?" She put her hands in her coat pockets, "But hey, if you wanna find something more normal to do there are a bunch of decent movies coming out that _aren't_ just Superhero rehashes. We could go on a date. Technically you and Gwen _are_ broken up now." She winked.

"I wouldn't dare try to compete with your legion of admirers. Tell me, how many flowers have you gotten since you showed your face?"

"You don't wanna know." Her shoulders sagged exaggeratedly and she kicked a loose pebble down the street, "Guys I went on _one_ crappy date with or unmatched me suddenly came back saying 'I just _had_ to give them a chance'. Back when I was just Cindy Moon people swiped left all the time but now that they think they can get with an actual Avenger suddenly it's a match made in heaven. That isn't even getting to the women are convinced I'm gay cause someone decided to spread a rumor for internet points. I'm thinking of deleting my account."

"What did you expect? It wasn't a bed of roses when people found out who I was..." He still felt bitter about it. Least Jack was crippled and stuck in Rykers.

"I figured it'd make things simpler and Jean suckered me into it. Kinda regretting it now." She suddenly swiped the cigarette from his hand and took a quick drag. Her eyes widened and she immediately started coughing, "God, what the hell? How can you smoke this?"

"Why did you take it?" He snatched it back.

"Just wanted to see what the big deal was. You go through like ten packs a day and my mom did it back home. Figured there had to be _something_ about it."

"Just stick to your tequila shots. You'll live longer." He finished off the coffin nail and tucked it to his portable ashtray before grabbing another. Cindy's phone suddenly buzzed, "You gonna get that?"

She tapped the screen and sighed with a frown when she saw the message, "Not this guy again." She deleted the message without even reading.

"Friend of yours?"

"A particularly persistent douche. He swiped left cause 'I was just a 7 out of 10 and I only date 9's'." She said it in an exaggerated, mocking baritone, "Bullet dodged. But then I told people who I was and suddenly he goes back saying it was 'a misunderstanding'. I told him to piss off and he's been stalking me ever since. Thinks if he whines enough I'll have to see he's Mr. Right. Cause nothing says romance more than a guy telling me he's a gentleman for asking consent first and not 'just taking what he wants'."

"Should we deal with him?"

"Nah, he's just a blowhard. Trust me, I've got more things to worry about than some angry douche." She suddenly grinned, "Besides, it's not like your luck is any better. You ever check yourself online."

"Not particularly."

"You really should. It's always good for a laugh." A few more clicks and a newspaper popped up on the screen with a 30 something woman front and center, "Meet Katherine Dare, the woman who claims to be Spider-Man's true lover. Apparently she's convinced that her baby is yours and the only reason you haven't come out is you wanted to keep them safe. She's gone into overdrive ever since you and Gwen broke up and she's trying to legally change her name to Mrs. Spider-Woman."

"...There's a reason I stay away from this particular web." He shoved the phone away. The sheer anonymity allowed people's worst characters to come out. Say what you will about the 30's but it was much harder to hide back then.

"And of course there are the people convinced we're together." Another few clicks and now there were a row of videos, each of them with pictures of him and Cindy at the forefront, "Apparently the two of us fighting back to back during that hospital crapstorm means we're secretly screwing and the _real_ reason you and Gwen broke up is because you just couldn't stand it anymore and we just _had_ to be together." She laughed at his completely unamused look.

"...I hate this city."

"We should be flattered. There are entire sites theorizing all about our secret, forbidden love." She made mocking kiss sounds. Peter grabbed the lower half of her face and pushed her away while she held up her hands in surrender.

"You done?"

"Depends. Have you cheered up?" He opened his mouth to protest but she cut him off, "You're feeling down, I can tell. I dunno if it's cause of what happened between Bullseye and Lana or something else but being down won't help. If you need someone to talk to or watch your back then you know you can count on us, right? The whole loner thing doesn't really work when you have all of us on speed dial."

"...I'm fine, Cin." He smiled, small but genuine, "We've got our ups and downs, but I'll deal with it."

"If you say so." She tossed her empty cup to a trash can twenty feet away - which got her at least a few stares - and looked up at the shabby brick building, "This is the place. So, I play bad cop and you play worse cop?"

"Fine with me. Let's do this."

* * *

Up above, Raymond hissed as the piss went down the bowl, "God fucking..." He cleaned up the mess and pulled up his boxers. Fucking doctors and their damn surgery._ We can't salvage your member, _they said, _but we can ensure that you are still a fully functioning member of society._

Yeah, fully functioning his ass! He was a fucking joke. To everyone who knew him he was the guy whose nuts got blown off by Spider-Man. Nevermind that he was the only one who survived the damn thing when even Owlsley ended up in the pavement. Oh no, apparently him dying back there would've been less embarrassing than what he was now. The no-bone wonder, the man without a sausage.

Fuck, maybe they were right.

He trudged through to the cupboard and wiped his hands on his tanktop. Nothing but old cans of dog food greeted him. He sighed and opened it with a muffled curse. Whatever, wasn't like he cared what he put in his gut. He couldn't be picky, not since last year. Back then he'd eat steak Denise cooked him. Now? Now he was chowing on dog food that probably expired months ago.

He dug into the food and just stewed. No job, no nothing. No one in this part of the city would hire him since last year and last job he had was a janitor a couple months ago. Even that was gone, so now he just sat here waiting for the dog food to run out. He'd probably blow his brains out before it got to that point, though. Wasn't like he had anything else to look forward to.

There was a knock on the door, "Fuck off!" he shouted. Probably the kid from across the hall. Little shit always made fun then ran back to his dad when he got pissed off enough to stand.

Another knock. He was about to scream again when the door was kicked down with a loud crash, "Shit!" He grabbed a broken bottle from the table before someone rushed to him and grabbed his hand, "Wouldn't do that if I were you." A woman's voice hissed. She squeezed his wrist till he dropped the bottle to the floor before she tossed him back to the couch.

"What the fu-"

"We've got some questions." Another voice, a guy, said. He looked past the woman with the green coat and saw a guy in a black suit walk past the smashed door, "We're only gonna ask this once: where's your old gang hiding?

"Who the fuck are you?" He tried to stand and the woman shove him down with one hand. Even now the part of his brain that hadn't been blown off like his gun was could only think it'd been _months_ since a woman touched him, especially one that looked like her.

"You don't recognize me? Funny, thought you'd remember the people whose parents you tried to kill."

It only took a second for the words to register. But when it did... "You son of a bitch!" He tried to stand, tried to reach a hand out to strangle his scrawny little neck, but his girlfriend kicked him in the chest back to the couch. Before he could do anything else she pressed her boot against his neck, pushing the back of his head against the wall, hard enough to choke.

"Wouldn't do that if I were you," his side piece said.

"Answer the question and we'll get out of your hair."

"Why the fuck should I?!" he managed to snarl, "You ain't done me any favors, you little shit!"

"You wanna go for a second round?" He pulled out a pistol from his pocket and aimed it at his face.

"What, you think I'm scared to die?! Go ahead! It's been shit since what you did to me! So come on, fucking pull the trigger! I dare ya!"

"I know you ain't scared to die, but it won't be quick." The side piece stepped back and now Spider-Man was on him, one arm pressed his neck against the wall while the other held a gun under his stomach, "That pain from when I blew your pecker off? It'll be child's play when I'm done with you. I can make that hurt last for _days_, Burns. I'll keep you alive through it all just to make sure you feel all of it."

"You fucking..."

"I'm counting to 3 then I'm pulling the trigger. You know what happens if I shoot here? Your guts'll fill up with shit and you'll die of blood poisoning. It'll take a couple of days and you'll feel all of it. But that'll just be the start. I'll make sure you survive that then go for the next thing. Then again and again and again till you tell me what I want. Are we clear?"

"F-Fuck you-"

"1."

"I...I-"

"2."

"Fuck!" He screamed and cried. He wanted to goad him to do it, but at the end of the day he was scared. He couldn't do it. This wasn't a shot to the brainpan and lights out. This crazy bastard was gonna torture him till there was nothing left, "Th-They hang out at the back of Lafayette Family apartment! Leader's the meathead called Bruce! That's all I know!"

There was a moment of silence and, for just a second, Raymond thought he'd shoot anyway. But then he suddenly pulled back and put his gun out of sight, "Thanks for the information." And just like that he turned to leave. Raymond grit his teeth and grabbed the discarded bottle. This smug motherfucker! He was going to-

He turned around and punched him straight in the neck. He dropped the bottle and held both hands to his throat when the side piece spun and kicked him straight in the head, knocking him out.

Cindy looked down at the knocked out, former gangster and frowned, "I kinda feel sorry for him." She eyed the dog food and the shabby state of the apartment. Maybe it was weird for her to think that. She'd read up on his file on the way here. Before his fight, if you could even call it that, with Peter he was just another nasty piece of work. The kind of guy who smiled when his boss buried people alive and beat in an old lady's face when she couldn't pay the protection money.

"You can feel sorry all you want. I don't care about self-pitying mooks." He nudged his head, "Come on, let's go crash that joint before sun's out."

"You actually have a plan?"

"Yeah. Follow my lead."

His 'lead' ended up barging into the place and getting a gun pointed at his face,_ 'God damn it, Pete...'_ She resisted the urge to facepalm. To her right was Peter who was currently staring down the barrel of a gun just inches from touching skin. In front of him was Bruce, a man in his 40's with a hairstyle and beard that looked like it belonged to one of those survivalists, while the rest of his gang eyed them both from behind their leader.

"We just came here to talk," Peter said, acting like there wasn't a gun aimed right at his nose.

"Heh, yeah, talk." The leader sneered, "Ain't nothing good when a guy in a suit comes in." Her spider-sense rang and, just before he pulled the trigger, she grabbed his hand and twisted it up. The would-be survivalist's eyes widened before Peter grabbed the gun from his palm, twisted and elbowed the guy hard in the chest. Cindy let go of him before Peter grabbed his arm and flipped him to the ground.

The rest of the goons went for their guns but Peter was already pointing the revolver at the leader's head. Cindy unholstered her own pistols and aimed at the two closest gang members, "I said I just wanted to talk," Peter sneered back and stepped hard on the guy's neck, "If you actually listened I think we can help each other out. Not unless you boys are willing to die for the guy who overdosed your buddy Tim."

The name made them pause. Peter stepped off the larger man and, after making sure all the bullets were removed, dropped the revolver to the ground, "...How the hell do you know Tim?" the leader stood with a cough and signaled for the rest of the men to lower their guns with Cindy reluctantly following their lead.

"Personally? I don't. All I know is he suddenly overdosed in the middle of an interrogation and I get the feeling it wasn't you boys that did it. There's nothing normal about how he died so I'm guessing one of the bosses you hire yourself out for had something to do with it. You tell us who it is and we'll be out of your hair."

"Hah, yeah. That simple, is it?"

"I feel like I should point out that _you_ were the one who started pointing guns." Cindy crossed her arms, "We just wanna find out what happened to your friend. You can either help us or decide it's worth defending a guy who'll OD you on heroin as soon as he gets paranoid. Your call."

There was half a minute of absolute silence that followed. Cindy kept her arms close to her holsters just in case when eventually the the leader growled, "Yeah, I know him. He came in here with that fancy fucking suit of his and said he had a real opportunity. We didn't trust him, but Tim thought it was easy money. And it was, till we started hearin' rumors about how he got rid of loose ends."

"Overdosing?" Cindy asked.

"Yeah. Just rumors, no one really believed it. Whoever heard of a guy who can make you OD without touchin' ya? Looks like they were tellin' the truth."

"Who is he?" Peter asked.

"No one knows his real name, so everyone just calls him Mr. Brownstone. Apparently he thinks it's a real man of the people thing." He clicked his tongue, "And before you ask, I dunno where he is. He don't exactly advertise."

"He's a 'man of the people'. He has to appear somewhere," Peter said.

"Heard a rumor that he attends parties of the bigwigs in this place. Dunno if I believe it, but local bigshot by the name a' Samwell Roth's hosting a shindig at his place in a couple of days. Might show up there if you trust them rumors."

"It's the only lead we've got," Cindy muttered. They slowly walked back to the side of the building, making sure the gang didn't make any sudden movements, before they finally rounded the corner back to the busy streets. Most people didn't even look twice at the sound of gunshots here.

"...That went well," Peter said eventually.

"Did it? Do you know how close you were to being shot?" Cindy looked at him flatly.

"I trusted you to watch my back." Oh, how _flattering_, "At least we've got a lead now. Let's look up this Roth guy address then meet up when he holds that party."

"Yeah..." Cindy shook her head. Hopefully things didn't get worse.

* * *

_**MississippiRogue:** Hey Spinerette? You said once that there was a Spider-Man in your world, but that he acted like the Spider-Woman of our world? What exactly did his outfit look like? Was it just a genderbent Spider-Woman outfit?_

_**Reply from Spinerette:** Weird question, but why do you want to know?_

_**Reply from MississippiRogue:** Well it's a bit of a long story, but my friend FireworkJubeLee and I are into making cosplay, and we wanted to try something unique and maybe make an alternate universe Spider-Man suit for our other friend IceManDrake to try out for an upcoming costume party. I mean, who else can say they dressed up as a superhero from a different universe?_

_**Reply from Spinerette:** Huh, well that's something. As for your question, you remember that Spider-Girl dressed in red and blue that showed up from a different universe a while back before leaving? From what I can tell based on the similarities between her universe and mine, her dad was probably another version of the same Spider-Man from my universe and her outfit, while not 100% exact, is pretty similar. So basically, just make a dude version of that._

_**Reply from MississippiRogue:** Cool! Thank you so much! I can't wait to see what Bobby looks like in his costume!_

_**Reply from Spinerette:** Your welcome, I guess. Be sure to send a pic. I'm kind of curious how it'll look._

* * *

**So I've gotten some comments indicating that the story feels a bit too tense ie characters jump from plot to plot with next to no downtime chapters to show them just hanging out and having fun in-between all the plot or that Noir and Gwen never really go on dates and do couple-y stuff outside of them referring to sex. So I decided to focus on that next.**

**I'll suggest four 'fun' chapters and you guys decide which of these you wanna see most next chapter. Think of it as a sort of breaktime chapter. Pick which of the four you want to see the most:**

**1\. Peter and Gwen going on a date and just being happy**; maybe even them touring ESU to practice for campus life**. Might also have a segment of Noir exorcising a demon since people seem to be curious about that.**

**2\. Lana hanging out with her friends and family/her going through a normal school day and classes.**

**3\. Cindy going out on two separate dates with Silver Sablinova and Scott Lang while being a mom to Laura. This one's my preferred since I can get some romance practice in. **

**4\. Mary Jane going on her modelling gig and her attempts to be a normal college student now that she's in a better mental space. Also the awkwardness of spending time with Matt and/or Felicia.**

**Like I said pick among the four above which you guys want. Might make a poll as well but those seem to not get many votes nowadays.**


	40. Exorcisms and Campus Tours

**The Peter/Gwen date chapter won out with a Cindy focused segment coming in second. For the sake of not bloating I'll do these two chapters back to back and then go back to the plot. The Mary Jane and Lana plots can wait till later.**

**Hope everyone's staying safe out there. As always, italicized tweeter segments are from Nerdman.**

**Side Note - Seems like most of my older reviewers came back :) Hopefully this keeps up. :D**

* * *

_Jameson:"Welcome back to Just the Facts with J. Jonah Jameson. Sorry about the delay, folks, but apparently my new producer decided it'd be funny to be an incompetent moron who couldn't find his brain if he was holding it! You'll be pleased to know that I've fired him and put Jared back on track._

_"Now, the first thing on everyone's mind is if I've changed my mind now that Spider-Man is a child. Do I believe that he deserves different treatment now that he's changed? NO, I DO NOT! Actions matter, people, and Spider-Man has proven that whether he's an adult or a child that he's the same menace he always is! And that means he DESERVES WHAT HE GETS!_

_"And I've just gotten more 'tweets' that the adjacent menace known as Spinerette might be his new girlfriend! Tell me, citizens of New York, do you feel safe knowing that the heroes you place your trust in are thinking with their webshooters instead of their brains? Because I most certainly do not! Spinerette, if you're listening to this then take my advice. Put that menace where he belongs: in a prison cell! Yes, we've got a caller!_

_Caller: "Hey, this is Spinerette. Uh, just wanna say first off: fuck you. Second, practice what you preach. I'm sick and tired of Bodega Bandit ending up on my desk. Why don't you put him where he belongs? Cause if you don't I will, and no amount of bribery will keep him out."_

_Jameson: "Jared, cut the call! I said cut it!" _

* * *

"Please help my daughter." The old woman frantically grabbed his shoulders hard enough to almost hurt. Her eyes were red and puffy and she looked like she hadn't slept in days - probably hadn't considering how long it'd been before he heard it. It was an all too familiar sight. Places like this didn't have much in the way of a support system. Apartment buildings leased out to the needy and the desperate - illegal immigrants, small time criminals and anyone else that didn't need or want the law looking over their shoulder.

Peter gently pushed her away and walked to the room at the end of the hall. Everyone stared at him in a mixture of relief, suspicion and (for a rare few) fear. They expected a priest, someone who looked like they at least red the scripture. He just glanced through the good book in his spare time. That and the suit was hardly standard wear for any priests.

He stopped at the door and put a hand on top of the wooden surface. Even with most of his powers numbed he still heard the raspy growls inside, _'Page owes me for this.' _He wasn't even supposed to be here. Sure he'd dealt with his share of demons and the supernatural but it wasn't exactly his specialty. For the most part he tried to leave this kind of thing to the people who really believed.

No time to dwell on it now.

The room on the other side was sparse with nothing more than a bed at the center and a shabby cabinet over by the side. Peter set down his half lit coffin nail and walked towards the covered window, ignoring the growling figure tied to the mattress, "Hm..." He ripped the curtains down to expose the sunset and the figure behind him growled and struggled against her bindings.

He turned around and finally got a good look at the bound figure. She was a girl, probably no older than 15 or 16, and judging by her (distorted) features she was of Asian descent. She turned back towards him and Peter almost sneered at the face that greeted him - wide and veiny with sharp teeth that didn't look look it belonged to a human being. Typical signs of possession.

Time to get this over with.

He rolled up the sleeves of his suit and straddled the struggling demon. She growled up at him and muttered, _"Watashi wa subete no anata o korosudeshō." I will kill you all. _Japanese. Peter sneered and tugged Martin's rosary off his neck.

"Sure."

He pressed it against her forehead and she _screamed_. The skin burned at the contact and he tried to ignore the smell of burning flesh that wafted up his nostrils as he muttered the prayer. Behind him at the doorway was her mother, her face frozen in fear while she weakly raised a rosary and held a bible close to her chest. Past her the other tenants had gathered around to look on from a safe distance.

Peter pulled the rosary back and frowned when he saw the fresh scar on the skin. It shouldn't have been there after she was freed, "What the...?" He leaned forward and his spider-sense blared. The skin at her throat pulled taut and a _mouth_ tried to chew through the flesh, "Shit!" He wrapped the rosary around his fist and punched it. The girl fell back on the bed and didn't move.

Now he knew why Page sent him here.

"I need a mirror..." he muttered. No one heard him, "I need a mirror! Five feet high, and some rope too! Go!" The people behind the mother scrambled while he got off the bed. He grabbed a chair and smashed the window open, thanking small mercies that there weren't any bars on it. He looked over the edge and, finding the street below abandoned, dragged the bed till it faced the window.

He took the rope one resident offered to him and tied it over the window. Four more men carried the window into the room slowly, "Put the mirror over her and tie the rope into a knot over the frame. Each of you hold one end and whatever happens,_ don't look_."

They all nodded and closed their eyes as the girl stirred. Peter did the same and covered her eyes with one hand and held her down with the other, "_In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti._" He said it again and again and again in a mantra. The girl struggled and growled as he chanted. The demon was getting angry.

And then his spider-sense blared.

The man to his right, either out of curiosity or fear, opened his eyes. He gasped and stumbled back against the wall, his hair turning from brown to shocking white as he scratched at his face desperately, "No!" Peter opened his eyes and tried to keep the mirror up with his free hand only for the girl to tear through the bindings on her left wrist and grab his throat hard enough to choke.

Peter growled in turn and pushed her face down harder. Page sure picked a hell of a time to ask him for help. No enhanced strength, no webs, nothing. Just a sixth sense that he might as well didn't have for all the good it did, "Come on..." He continued chanting. The girl's struggles weakened and he saw the something tearing at her throat again.

Finally.

He threw himself over the side to the ground and watched as the demon's reflection 'fell' and hit the glass. It was an ugly little thing, pasty white with emaciated limbs and a sharp row of teeth. It had no eyes or nose and it reminded him of a half finished mannequin.

He stumbled over to the rope and tugged...only for the wooden sides of the window to stop it, "God damn it..." He hopped onto the bedframe and tugged. Right now he really could've used Cindy's help, but of course she had to be called back to her work. The demon's reflection punched at the glass and he saw cracks appearing on the surface. If that thing got out it'd make good on its promise.

He gave one final tug and the demon managed to to push one arm through the glass before the wooden barriers finally gave way. The demon screamed all the way down till the sounds of shattering glass reached their ears. Coughing and rubbing his throat, he walked over to the window and looked over the edge to the broken mirror. It was gone.

From behind him the girl gasped, her sweat soaked (and normal) face looking around frantically, "_Okaa-san...? Okaa-san!_" The woman and another resident rushed into the room and quickly began untying her.

Peter made his way to the man who opened his eyes and knelt down in front of him, "Are you alright...?" No point in telling him off. The white hair would be enough of a reminder.

"Y-Yes..." He nodded weakly.

"Your hair should go back to normal in a week. Just make sure to be careful." He pulled out a chocolate bar from his pocket and offered it to him, "Eat it. Should help you calm down." He stood back up and made to leave when the girl's mother stopped him.

"_Domo arigato!_ Ah...thank you! Thank you so much!" She held his right hand with both of hers and cried.

"_Dou itashimashite." _His Japanese wasn't the best, but he could tell she appreciated the attempt, "Take care of her. And...here, pass it around." He handed her a few hundred dollar bills. Wouldn't be enough to last, but hopefully it'd give them a reprieve.

"You have done enough. We can't-"

"Just take it." He pressed it against her hand and looked her in the eye, "Look after your daughter."

She thanked him again. He waved her off and made his way back to outside, dialing Page on his phone as he did, "It's done, I presume?" she asked in that oh so calm way of hers.

"Yeah. One of Lilith's. It was harder than usual." He rubbed his throat again and hoped there wasn't going to be any bruising. Last thing he needed was for Gwen to worry, "That's why you sent me, isn't it?"

"Correct. Most priests wouldn't be able to handle the...physicality." She hummed, "Regardless you have my thanks."

"Save the thanks. You owe me a favor." He cut the call and walked back to their apartment. After this people would know he was back to normal. Least criminals would stop running out of embarrassment now.

He was the only one there when he arrived. Well, at least it gave him time to make a little welcome back thing, "Tch..." He clicked his tongue when he saw how sparse the fridge was. Considering Gwen and Mary ate enough for three people they were remarkably lazy when it came to the actual shopping. Oh well, he'd make do with what he had.

He was just about finished divvying up the three (more like seven) portions when the door opened and Gwen walked through. She only managed two steps before she stopped and looked at him with wide eyes, "Welcome back." He smiled and set the apron down by the sink. It was nighttime now, "Mary not with you?"

"No, she...she said she was staying over at Felicia's. Wait, are you back? How did-"

"Teresa. Met up with her earlier today and she...fixed me," Peter replied, "Sorry for not calling, but I wanted to surprise-"

Once again he was reminded of just how dulled his reflexes were when Gwen practically surged forward and pushed him against the counter. He barely had a chance to say something before she pressed her mouth against his in a kiss, "Mmm, Gwen, wait-" his words were cut off when she deepened the kiss, her tongue practically wrestling against his while she pushed him harder till he was practically leaning on the tabletop.

The kiss lasted for almost half a minute before she slowly pulled back. He idly noticed there was a bridge of saliva between them, "God, I've been waiting days to do that." Her face was red, though it definitely wasn't because of embarrassment. She swallowed audibly and chewed on her lower lip, "You don't mind if we skip dinner, do you? I'm not hungry right now."

He felt an all too familiar warmth in his gut at her goofy smile, "Ah...I should probably tell you that there were some side-effects when Teresa brought me back."

Her smile faded and she looked at him warily, "Please don't tell me she took your little Peter away? Cause I'm still willing to go for it but-"

"No. Nothing so severe." What was messed up was it wouldn't have been the first time it happened. Just another reason he hated France and those damn cartoon mascots, "Bringing me back...severed my connection to the Spider-God for a bit."

"Meaning...?"

"Meaning I don't have most of my powers. Actually, I just have my spider-sense right now." He didn't try to see if he could turn invisible or focus his senses just yet. Wasn't exactly keen to test out the feedback without the rest of his powers, "So, uh...we're going to have to be careful."

"Careful. Right. Wasn't like I was looking forward to this or anything." She shook her head and (thankfully) smiled again, "Alright, let's do this."

* * *

**SakuraInConcrete: **For everyone who was worried, thank you for the kind words. Yes, sis was legit possessed by a demon, but she's okay now. Thank you, **Spider-Man**. :D

**Reply from Dawn Smith: **Wait so he legit performs exorcisms? The hell?

**Reply from ThePaimon: **Yeah, you didn't know? He's been moonlighting on the exorcist gig since he came back. He usually helps out at the lower income areas where even a lot of priests don't wanna go.

**Reply from Dawn Smith: **Wait, so **SakuraInConcrete** your sister was possessed?

**Reply from SakuraInConcrete: **Yep. She was messing around with some people at school and they thought they could summon like an incubus or something. All they summoned was a big ugly white demon.

**Reply from DarkSpider: **I'll say it once and I'll say it again: stop messing with the supernatural. Demons aren't your friends, despite what your romance stories tell you. All you're good for to them is a foothold, nothing else.

_**Reply from Jazzbear69:** So bad news for all Baby Spider fans out there, I heard Spider-Man is back to normal. Some of the apartment tenants said he most definitely was not a child anymore._

_**Reply from EmeraldArcher101:** Yeah I heard it to. It sucks :C He was so adorable!_

_**Reply from Jazzbear69:** I know right? Way better than before._

_**Reply from DarkSpider:** You people wanted me to stay stuck as a child?_

_**Reply from Staniacool:** Yup. You were cuter that way._

_**Reply from DarkSpider:** ...And I thought Murdock was messed up._

* * *

Being with Gwen for as long as he did allowed him to pick up on her habits. The way she had her heart on her sleeve, how her fingers tended to twitch when she lied. Little things that she probably didn't notice herself.

Most of all was how affectionate she was. Friends, family, as long as she cared about them she didn't hesitate to get into their personal space - skinship, to use the 'proper' term. It was one of the few things that caught him off guard his first weeks here. Back in the other Spider-Man's home people kept their distance. It was just how things worked back then.

Now he woke up in bed with his phone ringing and realized he was stuck cause she had both arms wrapped around his chest, "...Gwen?" He tried to move only for her to tighten her grip and press her head at the back of his neck with a soft growl. Judging by the clock it was close to noon. Another side-effect of his temporary downgrade - actually needing to eat and sleep, "Gwen, it's late. Come on."

She still didn't move.

"Come on, Gwen. I'm feeling trapped here." He reached for the cellphone on the desk and barely managed to grab it. It was Cindy, "...Hello?"

Her face appeared on the screen (stupid video call) and she raised a brow when she saw him, "Uh...am I interrupting something?" she asked, obviously amused. Thank God the phone was high enough that she could only see their shoulders.

"No, just...why'd you call?"

"Well I did some research and the party we need to go to is taking place in a couple of days. Should be able to snag us a couple of invites once I do some digging. But that's not all. Tell me, how much do you know about Lana's school?"

"Not much apart from what she told me. Apparently it's a prison from which no joy can be had."

"Sounds like her." She smiled wryly, "Anyway, something happened over there and the school got exposed to the Terrigen Mist. Thankfully most of the students were out but Lana needs some help investigating. She thinks that this wasn't an accident."

"What does she need us for?"

"The key witness, one Grace Holloway, is apparently refusing to talk to her. The mist being released isn't actually a criminal offense so the cops can't just barge in there. Apparently Grace will only talk if you and Gwen both go there personally. Apparently she thinks this is the perfect chance to get some more swiftgram followers and Lana's stuck since threatening her isn't exactly a good idea."

"Do we really need to investigate this? Like you said it's hardly a crime."

"Lana has a bad feeling about it so just go and help her out. She said she'd be free by this afternoon."

"Fine."

He cut the call and, after another two minutes of hassling, finally managed to make Gwen let go of him. Peter changed back into the suit (apparently Gwen liked it) while she put on a loose sweater with a spider insignia at the front along with a pair of (surprisingly tight) jeans and black trainers. He looked back at her and blinked when he finally noticed that she was taller than before. Hadn't changed back fully after her trip to the club?

"You're staring. Something wrong?" she asked lightly.

"You're taller."

"Huh? Oh, shit, didn't even notice. Made Webster give us some alone time before I changed back fully." She rubbed the back of her head.

"It's fine. Just don't call me a midget like Grant does and we're good." No, he did not have a complex about his height and he didn't care that his 'brother' somehow clear 6 feet easily. Don't be absurd, "Hate to be 'that guy' - am I saying that right?" She nodded with a soft laugh, "Right, well shouldn't you be in class? I mean you made a big deal about how important college was."

"Not today. They're having an international food fair so most of the students are manning stalls..." she trailed off and he practically saw the lightbulb over her head, "Hey, why don't we both go? Webster can hold the fort here."

"To a food festival? If you want food I could cook something. Just need to actually buy stuff."

"No, I meant a _date_. The fair's open to the public and this'll gimme a chance to give you the the campus tour." The hesitation must've shown on his face because she'd suddenly pouted in a far too exaggerated way, "Come on! We're just a couple of weeks to November and enrollment's not far behind. If we're gonna get you in by the Spring Semester we can't keep putting this off."

"Ugh, fine. Just...let me get that damn wig."

Gwen grinned all the way to ESU, which made looking like a tool almost worth it. Peter made sure to keep his head down as she led him to the fair, which really reminded him more of a farmer's market than anything else. The stall owners hawked their wares while students and outsiders practically shoved over each other to get to the front of the line. Reminded him of that concert he had to sneak his way into.

He stopped when he saw a metal figure easily over 7 feet in height close to the Russian stall. At first glance you might've mistaken him for a statue but his energetic womens and loud laughs immediately put a stop to that idea. Gwen followed his gaze and laughed, "That's Colossus. He's-"

"I know who he is." She looked at him curiously and he shook his head, "I told you about Wade, right? Well that guy's convinced Wade can give up the mercenary gig and join the Initiative. Hounded him across one mission." Bright side having the 7 foot tall walking tank made the fighting easier. Not so bright side Colossus seemed to think he needed his 'encouragement' too, "Probably best he doesn't know who I am."

"Got it." She held his hand and led him to the stall selling burritos and tacos. Not too far away Peter saw Patillio, frog suit and all, twirling a sign next to the French stall, "The French group's selling frogs legs so I guess they thought Eugene would be the best mascot." Gwen took a big bite of her burrito, "Personally I think it's kinda weird. Like making a giant pig the mascot for your hotdog place."

"Better he's there than getting himself in trouble. You know he tried to 'join in' fighting the Hand?"

"Yeah..." She shrugged pityingly and finished off her burrito, "I mean I get wanting to help and all but there's only so much a frogsuit can do." She looked up at the campus, "We should probably do the tour now while the place is still empty."

"I still don't exactly feel good about you paying for this..."

"Oh god, would you let it go? Trust me, it's not a big deal!" She held his hand again, "Besides, we already owe you for cooking those five star meals. Me and MJ were eating instant noodles and takeout till you came back."

"Speaking of Mary, I was thinking about going to work at the theater. Apparently they're always hiring and I think we'd both feel better if I could keep an eye on her." He trusted Mary. He didn't trust Matt.

"Mmm, maybe, but don't you think MJ'd be suspicious?"

"Well it's either that or I work for Summers, Howard or Bishop. Summers wants me to be her 'official photomonkey', whatever the hell that means, and both Howard and Bishop think I could help them out with the P.I business." In all honesty the latter seemed to be his best bet. Jones made a living as an investigator and he always felt more at home with a goal to search for than working behind a counter.

"Pick whichever one you want as long as you're not gonna wear a trenchcoat again."

"I hardly think you of all people have any right to judge," he snarked back.

She rolled her eyes and took him to the largest building. This one was filled with classrooms, "You've already seen this part of the campus, but I figured a refresher's a good idea. Most of the profs are cool with not attending every day as long as you pass in the coursework. Should help keep you flexible."

"You said you were taking criminology, right?"

"Yep, figured it'd be useful considering my line of work. Oh, good timing." She waved over to an older man who was easily in his 60's. His head was shaved bald and he had a neat goatee that complimented his casual gray suit, "Professor Hickey! Hey!"

He looked at her and nodded, "Stacy." His voice was rough like gravel. He looked from Gwen to Peter and his eyes narrowed, "Who's your friend?"

"Oh, this is Ben Reilly. He's planning to enroll this Spring and I figured now was a good chance to give him a tour." She clapped Peter's shoulder, "Ben, this is Professor Mike Hickey the Criminology professor. He's an old friend of dad so that pretty much means I'm guaranteed to pass no matter what I do."

"Hehe, yeah, you keep telling yourself that, kid." Despite the sarcastic tone in his voice the smile was genuine, "So you sure you wanna take my class next year? George didn't want ya following in his footsteps."

"Well it's my choice," she said, surprisingly firm, "Anyway, we just wanted to say hi. I gotta take Peter to the rest of the places around here."

"You say so. Word of advice, Reilly, don't take any classes with that cuckoo Morbius. Guy's obsessed with some shit you don't wanna get into."

"I'll...keep that in mind, thanks."

They said their goodbyes to the old professor and Gwen led him to the rest of the facilities. Pools, a football field, computer rooms, a fountain at the center to serve as a gathering spot and various other places. He had to admit, this place was well-equipped. He was particularly interested in the science labs, which Gwen rolled her eyes at and accused him of being a nerd.

They stepped into the laboratory and were immediately greeted by Miles Warren, "Oh, hello!" He waved before going back to look over the microscope. Focused on his research. Peter could respect that.

"Hey prof. Not going to the fair?" Gwen asked.

"Not yet. Monica's bringing the kids in a few hours so I thought it would be a good chance to do some last minute experiments." He adjusted the nozzle, "Judging by your presence here, Mr. Reilly, I imagine that this means you're planning to enroll?"

"More or less."

"Splendid. Then I hope that you choose my class for your beginning year. It's clear by our last conversation that you have a knack of science."

"I'm not sure what I'll be majoring in, to be honest." Both his 'brother' and Parker wanted to focus on the science track, but was that what he wanted? Sure he loved it, but he doubted he'd be able to do anything with it; something told him Wasp's offer of work didn't hold up now. Sadly there was no studies on how to be a better vigilante, "I guess we'll see when I take some classes."

"Too right." He nodded happily and adjusted his glasses, "Ah, you might be interested to know that starting next year onwards ESU is offering a course on Superhuman studies. A majority of our science majors complained that trying to understand the science of the Gifted in their old courses was too difficult so the school decided to split it off to its own course. Judging by what I've heard apparently more than a few students are interested in it."

"Yeah, good luck trying to explain how She-Hulk works." Gwen snorted, "Good seeing ya, doc. I'll catch in class on Wednesday."

They finished up the makeshift tour and went back to the fair. Thankfully the line for the Italy stall was pretty short and soon they had a bag of pizza, breadsticks and various other Italian cuisine to work as their (second) lunch.

They were almost out of the crowd when Gwen bumped into someone all too familiar, "Ugh, watch where you're going!" Sally Avril looked to Gwen her face warped in a sneer, "Gwen, of course you'd be pigging out." She looked down at the boxes judgmentally. Witch.

"Avril, so nice to see you," Gwen shot back, sickly sweet, "Shouldn't you be off posting selfies to your swiftgram about how hard being a struggling artist is?"

"Like I haven't heard that before." She rolled her eyes and when she saw him her brows raised, "Who's your emo friend?"

"Ben, but I'd really appreciate if you don't talk to him. I kinda wanted him to avoid seeing ESU's human garbage." It was surprisingly callous remark but Peter wasn't going to judge. Avril made his life hell and as far as Gwen was concerned she and King were the main reasons that he injected himself with that serum. The fact that Avril played off any responsibility once people found out the Lizard's identity only worsened her in Gwen's eyes.

Avril's right eye twitched but she (thankfully) left without another word. Mary was right; she only picked fights she knew she could win.

Gwen led him to the back of a building and, after making sure no one was looking, webbed them both up to the roof. The best view on campus, she said. They sat side-by-side on the edge, legs dangling off to the side with the box of food behind them. From up here he saw just how big this place was. A part of him felt he didn't belong, but he ignored it. Gwen wanted him here and that was enough for him to give it a chance.

"So, what do you think?" Gwen asked after finishing off her first slice of pizza, "Did I tempt you away from the dirty streets to trying to live the normal life?"

"You know I was never against it, I just didn't want to feel like a burden." He took a small bite of his own breadstick and stared down, "I'll be honest, Gwen, I...I don't know how to be normal. Ever since I woke up in that alley I've always been Spider-Man. I haven't had a chance to be anything else and..." He sighed, "I don't know if I can be."

"Why not?" she asked, soft and not at all judgemental.

"Because I don't even know who I am. I have two sets of memories in my head and I know I don't own either of them. I'm not the Spider-Man who got trapped here but I'm not the kid who wanted to be the next Tony Stark either. I know that I have to make do and become my own person but it's harder than I thought it'd be. Being with you and the others helps, but..."

He trailed off. Gwen didn't say a word and just held his right hand with her left gently, "If you need anything you know I'm here, right?"

"I know." He smiled back at her, "It just...it feels like I _can't_ be normal. I did try, you know. That year long trip a part of me wondered if the next place I went to was the one I'd finally be normal for just a week. But no matter where I went I got dragged into this madhouse's insanity. I think...the Spider-God won't let me be normal. He brought me back for a reason and it's not because he wants me to earn a diploma and get a 9 to 5 job."

It'd always been at the back of his mind, festering. The Spider-God wanted a hunter - a killer - so where did that leave him and Gwen? How long could he really keep doing this before it all became too much? The vigilante streak couldn't last forever.

"Do you believe in fate?" she asked suddenly.

"What?"

"Do you believe in fate?" she stared straight ahead, still smiling, "Cause I don't. I don't give a fuck what Teresa says, we make our own choices. If you want to be normal then we'll both try, damn what some big fucking extradimensional spider says. I lost you twice already, Peter, I'm not losing you a third time. Whatever happens I'm there with you. No matter what."

"Almost sounds like you're proposing marriage there." He laughed under his breath.

"Maybe I am." There was that grin again, "I mean is that terrible of an idea? I'm pretty sure this isn't a college fling or anything so..." Despite her joking tone he caught her chewing on her lower lip. She was nervous, "It's just I know we're way too young to be thinking about that shit but I _do_ wanna get married someday and I don't see us breaking up any time soon so-"

He kissed her. Her eyes widened briefly before she closed them and reciprocated the gesture. This time the kiss was soft and lasted for only a few seconds before they pulled back, "I love you, Gwen. Trust me, I wouldn't have even thought about coming here if I didn't." He looked down at the people below, "I know I'm not...good at this sort of thing, but I do want to be a good boyfriend."

"You're doing a pretty good job so far." She squeezed his hand, "Just...I wish you'd be more open sometimes. We _are_ together but sometimes it feels like you don't want to touch me. Like I have to be the one to initiate or we're just gonna be sleeping on opposite sides of the bed. I mean you do initiate here and there, but I still feel like it's disjointed."

"...Sorry." He looked down, cheeks slightly red, "I'll try my best. like I said, I'm still not used to this whole thing. Having a 'normal' relationship. Being someone outside of the mask. It's slow going, but that's why you're here, right?"

"Definitely." She scooted closer and put her head on his shoulder. It was times like this that she cherished the most. Sure she loved being Spider-Woman, even if she went through hell, but she loved being Gwen Stacy much more. It was one of the biggest reasons why she refused to give up her identity. Cindy might've been able to deal with being out in the open but she couldn't.

"...What are they doing over there?" Gwen followed his hand and stifled a burst of laughter when she saw the mob at the edge of the plaza.

"Oh, they're rallying. Or protesting. People get really pissy if you don't get it right."

"For what?"

"I dunno. ESU's a pretty liberal college so chances are you're gonna find someone offended by something and most people join in. Personally I think most of em just use it as an excuse to not attend exams when they didn't study." She squinted her eyes till she made out the signs, "Oop, looks like they're protesting cause there aren't enough countries in the food fair. Guessing they think that's offensive somehow."

"...Is it too late to back out?"

"Haha, nope, you're stuck. Enjoy the insanity, Pete, we're gonna be here a while."

* * *

**FCOL C: ****FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman, **I need a favor.

**Reply from** **FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman:** Sure, whatcha need?

**Reply from FCOL C: **I'll be straight with you. I'm been feeling really depressed the past few weeks and it's hard to even come up with motivation to get up in the morning. Seeing you saving lives and kicking ass on the news helps me keep going.

**Reply from ****FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman: **Uh, thanks? I'm still not sure what the favor is though.

**Reply from FCOL C: **I'd like to have your phone number. Not the Avengers line that always goes to voicemail but your personal one. I think if I could just talk to you every couple of nights it'd be really good for my mental health.

**Reply from ****FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman: **...Are you serious?

**Reply from HawkeyeBishop: **Dude are you serious? Like you realize you're like the millionth person whose tried to get her number right?

**Reply from FCOL C: **Fuck off, I wasn't asking you. **FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman, **yes I'm serious.

**Reply from ****FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman: **Listen, I'm sorry but I really can't do that. My identity's secret for a reason and I can't just go handing out my personal number to anyone who asks.

**Reply from FCOL C: **But I'm depressed. Don't you care about what happens to people? I thought you were a hero?

**Reply from ****FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman: **That doesn't mean I'm just going to give out my personal details. If you need help then I can swing by when I get the chance, but honestly you're better off going to talk to friends or a psychiatrist.

**Reply from ****FCOL C: **Fuck off. Shows what I get for thinking heroes actually cared. Hope you enjoy my hanging on tonight's news!

**Reply from Spinerette: **Just tracked his IP and called the police for a suicide risk. You really need to pick your fans better, Spider-Woman...

* * *

**There we go, sap chapter done. I'm actually looking forward a bit to writing Cindy's chapter more since it allows me to write two contrasting dates and which one is considered more intimate/romantic. Anyway, tell me what you guys thought of this chapter. I thought it became too cringy at the end but I also know people want more romantic stuff since the past few chapters have been mostly plot, angst and action.**

**The first part with the exorcism was mostly there cause I had readers asking to see segments like it so it comes across as disjointed compared to the rest of the chapter. Don't worry, it'll tie in later. **And yes, I stole it from Constantine. I'm not very creative.

**Question:**

**1\. Does every lead come across as decently competent? With five protagonists vying for POV I wonder if some come across as less capable than others. Lana and Mary Jane come to mind. The former spent multiple chapters comatose in a hospital and the latter, up until recently, was crippled with self doubts and seems to let Carnage do most of the fighting.**

**2\. Did I write the Cindy/Noir and Lana/Sue pairs in a romantic way last chapter? I thought I did it well enough platonically but apparently a RL friend who reads thought the former were a tad too flirty and that the latter are meant to be romantic in nature due to the body language ie making kissy faces or holding hands together in bed. I dunno, I thought it was fine but maybe I'm wrong. **

**Review Answers:**

**RedHood001 - Hope you liked this chapter since you chose it :) As for the love triangle, that'll come later.**

**Cyclopz - Lana and Mary Jane will have to be delayed, sorry. Least we still get Cindy.**

**Crieger - I feel dirty reading it...**

**Ch4os4ever - I made the Jameson segment up top just for you.**

**Titan616 - Peter might be able to tank a death note since the Spider-God controls his soul. Ditto Moon Knight cause of his god. As for Lana, she's used to it but that doesn't mean she's not annoyed. Sue is legitimately one of her closest friends so she gets annoyed people assume they're fucking.**

**Dr. Sugarcakes - I thought you fed on nightmares and despair?**

**AlextheSouthParkGhostRider - Hey, you're back. Don't worry, Bullseye's role isn't quite done yet. He still needs to fight Daredevil and Noir.**


	41. The Bachelorette

**Guess who's got FF7 remake downloading on his comp right now :) Figured I should get this out before that game takes up all of my attention. **

**This chapter felt easier to write than the previous one, even taking just a day rather than the couple of days I usually take; and that's with my procrastinating ass. **

**The last chapter didn't get much feedback so hopefully this one does better :) **

* * *

**Random Hikes:** So I think I figured out why **Spider-Woman** and **Spider-Man** broke up. It's cause she's part of the_ #1Percent._

**Reply from sleepyboi: **...Wut?

**Reply from Random Hikes: **It makes sense, doesn't it? Spider-Woman said in an interview that the Spider-Man our Spidey got his memories from had socialist leanings. Considering the fact that Spider-Man sticks around low income areas and the rumors about him helping out the homeless it figures that some of that stuck around.

**Reply from Leo: **And that explains the break up how?

**Reply from Random Hikes: **Think about it. Spider-Man's a socialist who helps out the poor while Spider-Woman is one of the gals up top.

**Reply from sleepboi: **Is she? Last I checked she wasn't swimming around in a yacht or dumping waste in rivers to save a few bucks.

**Reply from Random Hikes: **She still makes mad bank. Just look at how much her merch and likeness sells for and count out how much cash she must be making from the royalties alone. Hell, all the Avengers count. **Captain America **gets merch money too, **She-Hulk's **a famous wrestler and celebrity, **Wasp **has a fashion and science line, **Hawkeye****'s **the daughter of a billionaire and even Spinerette gets paid like Spidey and Cap do. It's a whole group of 1 percenters.

**Reply from HawkeyeBishop: **Uh...so we're just gonna ignore the fact that Spider-Woman gives 90% of her earnings to various charities? The rest of us give a decent chunk too, especially Spinerette. BTW my dad doesn't support me. I work as a P.I and a landlord and most of that money goes to arrows.

**Reply from Random Hikes: **It's still pretty noticeable compared to, say, the **Defenders**. Apart from **Moon Knight** none of them look like they're rolling in dough compared to the Avengers.

**Reply from FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman: **The reason for our breakup isn't anyone's business, but Spider-Man's political beliefs aren't a part of it. We both try to help out where we can as far as the poor are concerned.

**Reply from Random Hikes: **Says the Superhero who probably lives in a mansion.

**Reply from FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman: **You do realize that comic's fiction, right? Cause if not then I suggest not being so gullible. Have a good one.

* * *

As far back as Cindy remembered she was never the girliest person. She never really liked the Disney princesses and any attempt her mom had to put her in dresses was ruined when she was inevitably found roughing it out in the field. No one made a big deal about it. Her mom just cared that she kept her grades up and her dad was pretty freewheeling as far as parenting went. It wasn't like she was born in the 30's like the other Spider-Man where she'd be seen as some kind of social deviant.

It did, however, mean that she found herself spectacularly not giving much of a crap that she was having dinner with an honest to god _prince_.

Prince Charming came up to her office tonight to check in on how the case was going. She was pretty honest about it - they had a lead they'd follow in a couple of days but nothing was set in stone. He seemed satisfied enough with that and for a second she thought he'd invite her to another sparring match to 'celebrate' when he suddenly asked her out to dinner.

And to be honest? The place he took her to was _suffocating_. She'd been to fancy places before. Madripoor was expensive and she'd been on a handful of undercover missions the past year, many of which were in places that made the Dubai back home look like a slum. But back then she wore a disguise and played a character. The fancy food, dresses and lilting, flirtatious giggles were to accomplish a goal. A means to an end, as Nat always used to say.

Now her identity was open and she felt markedly out of place even in the fancy black dress she'd made herself. It wasn't like she expected a prince to take her to a burger joint but the fancy restaurant, whose name she didn't even try to pronounce cause it was some French word that she was pretty sure they made up just to look exclusive, felt like it catered to the 0.0001%. The skylight view of New York at night afford through the elaborately designed glass window would've given most normal people pause.

Her 'date' was equally fancy, wearing a white suit that looked tailor made for him. A passing touch earlier confirmed her suspicions. The fabric was almost indistinguishable from the real thing but she'd been around enough to realize it'd been altered. Built to be better against bullets and knives, similar to the Melvin Potter guarantee suits Peter and Kate ran around with.

"Is something the matter? You seem put off," Prince Charming asked, still delicately cutting at his duck. Cindy herself ordered a turkey dish, mostly cause it was the only thing she could pronounce without looking like an idiot. Her foreign language skills had gotten rusty the past couple of months.

"You'd be put off too if everyone stared at you." Ever since she got in here the 0.0001 percenters wouldn't stop looking at her. Even now over a year later she didn't like being gawked at. Spending 10 years in complete isolation meant even going to the nightclub - which she felt way too old to go to despite Gwen and Kate's assurances - was an anxiety attack waiting to happen.

"I wouldn't be. You get used to it after the first ten years." His smile was dry and she felt the exasperation in the small gesture.

"Yeah, guess you would, Prince Charming." So far he hadn't said anything about the nickname. She chose to think he liked it, "So, why'd you bring me here?"

"I wanted to take you out to dinner as a thank you for your help. It felt like the least I could do."

"Yeah...cut the shit." Cindy's smile turned cold while Prince Charming raised a brow. He definitely wasn't expecting that, "I may not have been at this as long as Black Widow but I know a play when I see one. You 'just so happened' to pick a restaurant that had its capacity filled so you had to use your princely credentials? Then you put is in a spot where anyone who wants to gawk just has to turn their head. You're trying to send a message."

"And what would that message be?" he asked back lightly. Still wasn't admitting it.

"The higher up the food chain you go the thinner the line between entrepreneur and criminal becomes. Betcha at least half the people here have done worse than a little tax evasion. So you know what I think?" She leaned forward, smile still in place, "I think you want to scare them. You want to show to everyone that if they _dare_ mess with the Prince of Symkaria they'll have to deal with one of the Avengers. After all, we _must_ be close if you're willing to take me to a dinner in such a fancy place. And an Avenger for a friend is really useful, hm?" She wouldn't have been surprised if a few Maggia heads were here tonight.

She wasn't an idiot. She knew that was also the main reason Gobby's dad wanted to recruit her as their 'corporate sponsored hero' (read: mascot). Messing with Oscorp meant they'd have to mess with her, and if they messed with her the rest of the Avengers (theoretically) weren't far behind. It was a cold war on a local scale, and she was playing the game.

It was also why the Hand never attacked Gwen. They could deal with a few vigilantes, but the Avengers would decimate them.

"Are you always so paranoid?" He put his chin atop the back of his right palm and looked at her, genuinely impressed.

"You don't last long in this kind of business without a healthy dose of paranoia." There weren't many people she trusted. Hell, she didn't even trust all of the Avengers. She figured Kate and Gwen would have her back but Cap was part of that damn cover-up and She-Hulk always felt like she judged her for the guns she carried and the way she fought. Wasp she just didn't talk with too much so it was hard to establish a rapport.

Her therapist told her it was unhealthy, but she shrugged it off. Last time she trusted someone without making sure she lost 10 years. That and she didn't really trust her therapist either, which kinda just proved the point.

"So if you thought I was here doing some kind of gambit why did you come along?"

"Because it's my job." She sliced off a thin piece of turkey and bit down without taking her eyes off him, "You pulled some strings to get me and the rest of the 89th to investigate the attack and right now helping you helps me. A guy I'm after has ties to the Maggia and I have the distinct feeling that he's involved with this. Organized crime suddenly attacking an embassy? They avoid terrorism. Bad for business when you from being seen as businessmen to fanatics and enemies of a state. So I actually kinda owe you."

"Well now, that's interesting." He took a bite of his own duck in a precise manner, "Who is this man that you're hunting and why do you think he's the one who masterminded my attack?"

"Let's just say he has previous ties to a terrorist organization and leave it at that." She had no interest in spilling everything to him. Just cause their goals aligned didn't mean they were friends, "All you need to know is that I'm interested in stopping the Maggia as much as you are and that means we're allies." The_ for now_ was left unsaid. She'd read up on Symkaria and it wasn't exactly something she'd read to Laura.

It was a tyranny. A royal family that ruled for hundreds of years and they weren't exactly shy about throwing their weight around. The current king, one Ernst Sablinova, was well known for his humans rights abuses. Peaceful protests put down hard and a nation in poverty while he lived it up in the palace. No one else did anything because he'd made enough deals with the likes of Latveria (another war-torn pit) and even the US to keep everything in-house. That meant no one but humanitarian groups ever did anything.

And Prince Charming was the heir to that dumpster fire.

The only reason she wasn't more put off with him was because from what she'd read he hadn't actually done anything. The S.H.I.E.L.D reports even described him as a 'stabilizing influence' on dear old daddy, and coming from S.H.I.E.L.D that was saying something.

"You don't trust me." It wasn't a question despite the way he said it.

"I don't really know you." She shrugged non-comitally and leaned forward again. His eyes flicked down to her chest for the briefest second before meeting her stare, "So why don't tell me what your plans are after this? Cause I doubt you wore that bulletproof suit for fun."

"You would be surprised." He chuckled under his breath, "To get to the point then: I have it on good authority that a good deal of these Maggia goons are going to be present at the warehouse, and I believe I know the reason for their attack on the embassy." He pulled out a photo from his suit pocket and slid it to her. She picked up and raised a brow when she saw the blurry picture of a mafia goon wearing a freaking _jetpack_, of all things.

"Guessing that's not standard issue." She slid the picture back.

"Symkarian tech. My father considers the funding of weapons to beat down his subjects even harder to be a worthy investment." It was just for a second, but she saw the pure, unfiltered _disgust_ in his eyes before he looked normal again, "This is just one warehouse, mind you. I don't expect we'll find the mastermind there, but stopping even one could prove helpful. And if not it should be cathartic to me."

"We?" She asked back wryly, "Last I checked I'm the supercop around here, not you."

"Well I hardly expect you to have all the fun." He pocketed the photo and stood, "Are you finished with your meal? I'd like to get to the dessert."

"You know saying that makes you sound like a dork, right?" She snorted and rolled her eyes as she stood, "And what makes you think you're coming? Some of the other officers already give me enough shit, having the prince of Symkaria shot on my watch isn't gonna do me any favors."

"Well we either work together where you can minimize my chances of getting shot or I go on my own and increase the risk to my life. Your choice."

"...We're taking ice cream to go."

Fifteen minutes later Cindy and Prince Charming were back to back in a warehouse surrounded by maggia goons and all she could think about was that her Häagen-Daz was melting. Cindy lowered into a crouch and narrowed her eyes. Judging from what she picked up these guys were members of the Costa family, meaning Don Costa had a lot to explain...assuming his lawyers didn't get him out on a loophole.

One of the thugs with jetpack beelined towards her. She rolled to the side and tugged herself onto his back with two lines of webbing, "Should've stuck to doing donuts." She grabbed the clasps Silver showed her and pulled the jetpack off the flailing thug. She webbed him to the wall and threw the jetpack to Prince Charming, who was busy flipping between two guys and shooting with the ICERs she loaned him.

He grabbed the jetpack and quickly put it on before taking to the air. Cindy focused on the goons wearing fancy armor while Silver flew around raining bullets from above. The dark part of her mind wondered how many times Symkarian soldiers did the same to protesting villagers.

She headbutted the last goon then kicked him to the air. Silver hit him twice in the jaw then Cindy webbed his chest and slammed him to the ground with a painful crack. Might have been overkill but they both needed to blow off some steam.

Prince Charming landed next to her and handed her the guns back, "Interesting weaponry." He took off the jetpack and put it to the ground.

"It does the job." She holstered the pistols and wiped the sweat from her forehead. Her heart was pounding and it was clear Prince Charming felt the same way. It'd been a while since she had a fight like this. Jetpacks and weapons that looked like they belonged in a sci-fi movie, it was definitely...different from her usual fights. Harder. She felt the adrenaline pumping and it still hadn't worn off.

Which was the reason she'd give later as to why Prince Charming was pinning her against the wall and practically violating her mouth. She didn't know which of them started it, but if anyone asked she was thoroughly seduced and did her best to resist. She almost forgot that they were in a warehouse surrounded by unconscious Maggia goons.

Almost.

She pushed him off and wiped her mouth, "Later. Deal with this first." She gestured to the unconscious goons and Silver, after a moment of obvious hesitation that felt kinda flattering, nodded and pulled out his phone. Cindy cuffed the goons with her webs and just finished up the last one when she saw a figure duck under the window from a roof above. Someone trying to be the sole survivor?

She webbed herself up while Silver took the stairs. She unholstered her guns and, with a quick nod to her impromptu partner, kicked the door down.

"Woah, woah, woah! I come in peace!"

Cindy let out a soft breath and holstered her pistols, "What are you doing here, Norah?" she asked the blonde. It'd been a while since she saw her last, though that wasn't a surprise. She often had to lay low and cool off after her latest 'hard hitting look at the truth'.

"The same thing you two are, I'm guessing." She gestured to the knocked out Maggia goon in the corner. Tazer hit, "I got a tip that some Costa family grunts were here smuggling in something real heavy and I figured I'd check it out."

"And you didn't call the police because...?"

"Because I figured that the boys in blue wouldn't exactly be a match to guys with jetpacks and laser?" Norah asked back rhetorically. Cindy didn't disagree, "I was hoping to get some pics and send it up to someone higher when you two jumped in on your date. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. Everyone was so busy attacking you guys that they didn't even see me hacking into their systems."

"Forgive me for being rude, but I think introductions are in order?" Cindy cut in.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. This is Norah Winters, a friend of mine. Norah, this is-"

"Prince Silver Sablinov, heir to the Symkarian empire." She shook his hand eagerly while Prince Charming just looked surpised at being treated so casually, "Yeah, I did my homework. You roped Cin here into investigating the Embassy bombing, though I'll admit I'm surprised you came here by yourself. I figured when I sent you the info you would've called Cin and she'd handle it."

"You were my anonymous tip?" He smiled, pleasantly surprised.

"Yeah, but I really just gave the info to one of your guys. No biggie." She waved a hand and turned to Cindy, "Sorry I didn't message. I figured it'd be better if I came back with some proof and I thought Prince Silver here would've waited a while to tell you, not like the hour I sent it to him."

"It's fine, just be careful. I don't wanna see you sleeping with the fishes cause you got in over your head."

"Aww, it's nice that you care." She smiled cheekily then turned back to Prince Charming, "So hey, if you wanna pay me back for that tip you can gimme an interview. But first..." She gestured to the laptop on a nearby desk, "I was about to finish my investigation when you two oh so rudely interrupted. Mind letting me get back to it?"

"Alone? Yeah, no." Cindy rolled her eyes and looked over Norah's shoulder as she finished the hack. Silver took up her other side and they both watched as Norah got a copy of the files into a hardrive, "Hey, what's that?" She pointed to the folder with a jumbled name.

"Encrypted. Hold on." A few keystrokes later and the folder opened to a single file, "Huh..._'Devil's Breath'_? With a name like that I doubt it's anything good."

"Know anything about this?" Cindy asked Silver.

"No. I'm afraid my father keeps his secrets even from me." He sighed, "Regardless these files should prove useful. Do you mind giving us a copy?"

"Sure, just lemme re-crack it first. Don't want anyone tracking this." She deleted all the files in the laptop and closed it. Cindy heard sirens, "Looks like the coppers are here. I'll head out if you don't mind. A lot of the boys in blue don't like journalists."

"Sure. We'll catch up later."

* * *

Cindy woke up the next day with a raging headache. Consciousness came back slowly and when she opened her eyes she realized two things: one, this bed definitely wasn't hers and two, that was her bra hanging from a lamp.

"...Shit."

"Morning." Her head snapped to the voice and she cringed when she saw Silver Sablinov sitting at the foot of the bed, one leg crossed over the other and a smile on his face. The silver (seriously?) nightrobe didn't leave much to the imagination, "Pleasant night?"

"Could've been worse." Right, she remembered now: she came back to his place to 'debrief' (and there was a pun there about what they really did last night that she refused to acknowledge), they had a few drinks from some vintage Symkarian brands, and then she fucked the crown prince of Symkaria. If she hadn't slept with Thor a couple of months back she probably would've thought that was more impressive, "Were you...watching me sleep? You know how creepy that is, right?"

"Really? Everyone always talks of how romantic it is." He gestured to a cup of coffee on a nearby table, "I assumed you'd want this."

"You assumed right." She stood and put on the closest robe, not caring that she was stark naked underneath. Bit too late for that, "So...are you going to tell me who that cop was you bribed last night or do I have to coax it out of you?"

"You don't miss a single thing, do you?" He shook his head and laughed, "If you must know, I simply ensured that those weapons wouldn't fall back into my father's hand. I think he has enough tools he can use to oppress Symkaria's people that he can afford to lose some."

"And why would you do that?"

"Because I'm planning to overthrow him." Cindy raised a brow. That was...candid.

"Sure you should be telling me that?"

"And why shouldn't I? Last I checked the Avengers had no ties to politics. You could warn him if you wish, but something tells me that you aren't exactly fond of my father's current policies."

"Mmm." She took a sip of the coffee and breathed out. Even his caffeine was fancy, "You're right, it's none of my business." She wasn't sure if Silver would be much better, to be honest. Revolutions had a way to going 360 from what she'd read.

"It could be." He looked up at her with a confident smile, "What say we extend this partnership, hm? When this case is over you could come with me back to Symkaria and help free her people. That is what heroes do, yes?"

"Okay, I am not nearly drunk enough to think fighting a revolution's something I wanna do." She sympathized with those people, but she couldn't be sure her presence there wouldn't just make things worse, "Besides, bit early to be making plans to elope, isn't it?" She smirked.

"Passion is fleeting. Why worry for time?"

"Pick that up from a novel, Prince Charming?" She checked her phone and sighed when she saw the message sent an hour ago, "Shit, I gotta go."

"Another case?"

"No, my kid just got called to the principal's office." He gave her a curious look but she didn't explain further. She webbed up a decent copy of a decent enough looking top and pants and swung all the way to the school. She was probably late by now.

She stepped into the office and winced when she saw Mrs. Toynbee sitting at one of the chars to the principal's right with her spawn next to her nursing a bloody nose. On the bright side Scott was there too with frowning Cassie while Laura sat with an empty chair next to her on the principal's left side.

"About time you got here! See, she doesn't even take this seriously!" Mrs. Toynbee - who she'd decided was now The Witch - sneered up at her.

"Please calm down, Ms. Toynbee. I'm sure she has good reason," The principal said. His tone made it clear he was as tired as she was.

"Work kinda comes up, you know." No, she was not going to tell them she just had a one night stand with a soon to be rebel prince, "What seems to be the problem."

"Laura-"

"The little monster hit my son!" The Witch screeched. As if on cue the little brat's smirk turned to a pained cry, "She should be expelled! She-"

"Mrs. Toynbee, calm down!" The principal looked down at her with narrowed eyes. She looked like she wanted to complain but eventually held it in, "Now as I was saying, it seems Laura hit young Mortimer here."

"He hurt Cassie." Laura growled, "He put a nail in her water bottle! If she drank it she would've gotten hurt."

"Yeah, I think that's what she's ignoring here," Scott said. She was very much relieved that there was someone on her side here, "This little bas- kid put something in my kid's drink and she drank it a little choking would've been the best case scenario. I think Laura did the right thing."

"She hit my son!" The Witch hissed, "She stopped your brat from getting hurt so what was the harm? That little monster-"

"Call her that again and I'm going to fucking-"

"Enough," the principal cut Cindy off, "Mrs. Toynbee, Ms. Miller's right. One more outburst like that and I'll be forced to call Mortimer's father. Are we clear?" She shut her mouth and nodded, "Good. Now, the teacher inspected and there was in fact a nail in the water bottle. Mortimer, would you care to explain?"

"I-I thought she'd notice it and drop the bottle. Honest!" That little shit...

"Even if she did that's no reason to pull this kind of 'prank' in the first place. If there's even a slight chance that someone could be hurt then it's not something you should ever attempt. Are we clear?" The little monster continued pouting until he saw it wasn't working and nodded like her mom, "Now, as for Laura. While I will admit that Mortimer's actions went too far she went and attacked him first while Cassie was the one who told the teacher."

"Teachers did not listen before." Laura grit her teeth, "He is a bully and he keeps doing it again and again. He deserves it."

"Why you-"

"Maybe next time you should control your budding little socipath there?" Cindy cut The Witch off, scowling.

"How dare you-"

"They will both have in-school suspension starting tomorrow," The principal interrupted. He was completely done, "Laura for two days with Mortimer receiving two weeks." The Witch was about to protest till he cut her off again, "Mrs. Toynbee, you are aware of how serious the situation could have become? You're lucky that Laura stopped this 'prank' from continuing. If she hadn't Cassandra would've been injured and Mortimer would've been put into juvenile detention. Do you understand that?"

"For a prank?"

"No, for trying to give my little girl internal bleeding," Scott said. He looked like he wanted to punch her, "You should count your lucky stars that it didn't go that far."

"Now, I think that should be all." The principal stood and looked between Laura and the little stain, "I don't to see either of you two here again, especially you, Mortimer. You got lucky this time."

"But-"

The principal waved them off without a word. The Witch glared at them as she walked her little 'prankster' out. Cindy just sneered back, silently daring her to do something. She didn't. Shaking her head, she took Laura by the hand and gently led her by the hand out with Scott and Cassie following. It was already noon so they had an hour and a half to kill before classes started again.

"Well, that just happened." Scott sighed and rubbed the back of his head, "Thanks for looking out for Cassie, Laura."

"She is my friend." Laura smiled and Cassie's frown finally faded into a little half smile of her own, "...I'm sorry for not going to the teacher first. Am I in trouble?"

"No. You're already suspended, and I can't really blame you. Seems like that little sh- uh, brat's a real piece of work."

"Apparently the kid's mom had a habit of getting her way with the old principal. Her brat thinks he's invincible and it hasn't kicked in yet that the new guy's not taking any of his...nonsense." Least she wasn't the only one who felt the pain of having to censor herself, "So listen, I can't really do much to thank you both so why not I treat you to some ice cream?"

"Baskin Robbins again?" Cindy asked back jokingly.

"They have the best flavors!" Cassie chirped. Least she was happy again.

"Mmm...why not? I could go for some ice cream right now."

Soon enough they were all sitting around a small table and digging in to their frozen treats. Laura happily ate her caramel brownie mix and, when she was sure no one was looking, put her spoon down at her stomach so Gabbie could snap out and take her share. So far their partnership was apparently going well, at least as far as Laura told it. Shadowcat hadn't complained either so that was a good sign.

Cindy may or may not have discreetly fed it (her) a few spoonfuls herself.

"People are staring." Laura mumbled. Cindy looked around and, yes, there were at least a few people whispering to one another and taking pictures. Another downside to exposing her identity. Kate assured her it'd stop (or at least slow down) eventually.

"Just ignore them."

They took the kids back to school when lunch was over. Miraculously enough she had nothing to do. Captain Watanabe said she didn't have to go in till after the party with Mr. Brownstone and Norah was still too busy to meet up, so she was actually free. It was...weird. She wasn't used to not having someone hounding her to do something or another.

"So-"

"Wanna go out?" Cindy asked. Scott gave her a surprised look and she shrugged, "I don't have anything to do and I figured you know this part of town better than anyone. It's fine if you don't want to."

"No, it's just...I figured you'd be swinging around on patrol or something. Isn't that what you superheroes do?"

"That's more Spider-Woman's thing. I mean I still patrol around sometimes but I'm usually at a desk nowadays."

"Sure you wanna be seen with a former burglar?" His tone was joking but the crooked smile told her he was legitimately worried. It was kinda sweet.

"Yeah, trust me, I'm not the type to really care. People with a chip on their shoulder'll find some way to hate me no matter what." She stretched her arms above her head and groaned slightly. It'd be nice to stick to the ground again, "So, know any fun places?"

"Hmm...how about the bowling rink? I know the owner and they make the best wings."

"Bowling, huh? Last time I went was..." Ten years ago when she went with her entire family. Two weeks before they died, "It's been a while. Might be a bit rusty."

"Don't worry, I'll take it easy on you." He smiled cockily.

"Oho, big words. Lets see if you can back em up."

Cindy won, though in fairness Spider powers kind of stacked the deck against her. She hit the final strike and jumped up in the air when the score tallied, "Yes!" she cheered. Scott clapped behind her with an easy smile. He was a remarkably good sport, though that might've just been because she bought him all those wings. She told him it was payback for the ice cream and he'd reluctantly accepted.

"Spinerette 3, Scott 2."She sat down beside him with a grin and grabbed a wing. They'd played five games and Scott was pretty close. He'd bragged earlier that he was the bowling champion of his high school. She was more surprised high schools actually had bowling tournaments.

"Yeah, rub it in why don't ya?" He rolled his eyes good naturedly and took his own wing, "Gotta say I'm surprised. Thought you superhero types were into the fancy stuff. You know, golfing with Tony Stark or something."

"Okay, I can say without a doubt that there isn't a single Avenger who'd think golfing with Tony Stark is a good time." She snorted. So silly, "I'm a woman of simple tastes. I like hockey, old video games, putting criminals in their place, and bowling."

"Same here. Except the criminals thing, I'm trying to cut back on that." She laughed. It wasn't funny, but hey, "So I really gotta thank you again for Laura. If it wasn't for her Cassie might be in the hospital right now."

"I can't really take a lot of credit, to be honest. I really only started the whole 'mom' thing...6 months?" Felt far longer than that, really. Just half a year ago she couldn't imagine anyone calling her mom, "You can thank her dad and sister for how she turned out."

"Dad...he your boyfriend?"

"Haha, _no_. No, no, no. He's with Shadowcat. Uh, the sister." His face was a cross of surprised and horrified, "That's not- uh, okay, Laura's adopted. She's related to Shadowcat but not the dad. He and Shadowcat found her and the adoption just kinda happened."

"So...this guy's together with this Shadowcat girl but Laura, who's her little sister, calls him dad." Cindy nodded, "...Do I have to tell you how weird that is?"

"Trust me, you do not." The less said about Laura trying to set her up with the other Spider-Man, the better, "But hey, it works for them and I can't really judge considering I'm from another dimension and all."

"Right, the whole other dimension thing." He took another wing, "Doesn't that make you feel weird?"

"It did, but then I figured it was better than ten years alone in a bunker. Don't ask," she said before he opened his mouth, "Let's just say this place is home sweet home now and my evil twin doesn't have anything to say about considering she's paralyzed in prison."

"Right, dropping the subject." He waved a hand through the air.

Their phones suddenly rang. Laura's name popped up on the screen and she answered, "Hey. Bit early, isn't it?"

"The teacher let us out early to do a project. I was grouped with Cassie and another two girls and Jubilee suggested we have a 'sleepover' to do the project. Could I?" she practically saw her pout. She couldn't blame her. The first sleepover was something special, especially for someone like her.

"Sure, you need a ride?"

"Jubilee's mom is picking us up and will take us to school tomorrow so we do not need to be picked up."

"Alright, stay safe." She cut the call and turned to Scott who just finished his own talk, "Guess we're free the rest of the day."

"Anywhere you wanna go next?"

"...Know any good bars?"

Not too long after that and she was into her sixth glass of tequila. The place - Josie's, he called - was a simple little place. Not a lot of customers but she appreciated the fact that the bartender didn't even look twice at her. Scott kept the drinking light, nursing one cup of a mix drink despite her reassurances she'd pay for it. Apparently he was trying to cut back for Cassie's sake.

"Alright, so you interrogated me last time so now it's my turn." She prided herself on the fact that her speech was remarkably clear. In fact she felt pretty sobert apart from the slight buzz.

"That's how it works, huh?"

"I'll keep it fair. You asked about family so I'll do the same. You said it was just you and Cassie. No mom in the picture?"

"No, just us. Peggy..." He shook his head and took a small sip of the mix, "She's not dead or anything, it just...didn't work out. Even before the whole burglary thing we had our fights. Got the divorce papers when I was in prison."

"Sorry."

"Don't be. I mean, what was I thinking playing Robin Hood when I had a little girl? Peggy was right." His shoulders sagged, "I had 5 years, spent 3. When I got out Peggy was...she'd started taking." Drugs. Of course, "Court was a circus. One side you got a dad straight out of prison and on the other you have a mom who spent most of the past year coked out. Had to prove I could take care of her. Honestly I think the judge just didn't wanna deal with it."

"Cassie seems fine now. You're doing good." Cindy squeezed his left arm.

"Ex-con dad and an addict mom, it's a miracle she turned out like she did. I can't take any credit for it. It's cause of her, not me."

"Hey..."

"...Sorry, didn't mean to make the mood so heavy."

"I was the one who asked." Cindy shook her head, "Seems like we've both got our issues with the whole parenting thing. What say we help each other out? Seems like our kids are friends so I figure it works out."

"Ain't gonna say no to that, but I really don't see how I can help you unless you want a recommendation for Baskin-Robbins."

"Give yourself some credit, Scott. You've got years of experience over me." She finished off the glass and breathed out deeply. She felt that one, "So tell me more about that little burglary thing. Playing Robin Hood, you said?"

"Yeah. Know Vistacorp? Wait, nervermind, other dimension. Yeah, so it's this place based in San Francisco. Cybersecurity and data storage. People paid big money to make sure they were safe and these assholes overcharged. Thought it was just a code thing so I 'fixed' it. Well, boss did not like that. Made me change the code back then fired me. Thought I'd get some payback and give the money back."

"A real modern day Robin Hood." She grinned.

"Yeah, well, I got sloppy and got caught. Like I said, 5 years but I got out of 3 for good behavior. Right now I'm just trying to keep on the straight and narrow." He grinned back, "Sorry it's not that interesting. Can't really compare to the woman who helped destroy H.Y.D.R.A and fought aliens."

"Oh please, everyone always talks about that. Yes, aliens exist and we fought them, woohoo. Sorry for not being more impressed considering one of my teammates is a radiation amazon." She rolled her eyes, "For what it's worth I do think it's pretty cool that you tried to help. Most people would've just cut their losses and decided it wasn't any of their business."

She smiled at him and he smiled back. Cindy tried to ignore the heat on her cheeks and just focused on the soft rock song coming from the speakers. Maybe it was just the buzz talking but it felt like she couldn't hear anything else. The two of them just stared at one another for a few more seconds before Cindy licked her lips to get the last of the alcohol out. Scott's eyes flicked downwards and she leaned in...

Then swerved to the left and got his drink.

"Hey!"

Cindy took a sip from the straw and hummed, "I think I like yours more." She laughed. Scott mock glared before joining her in laughing. The rest of the night passed by in a blur after that and she distinctly remembered Scott inviting her to his place since it was closer than hers. She was too tired to disagree.

This time when she woke up the headache didn't feel as bad. Cindy sat up on the old (but oddly comfy) couch and looked down at the patterned blanket. That was new. She looked around the apartment. It was pretty small with just two bedrooms and a combined living room and kitchen. Not too far away was Scott, whistling to himself as he cooked what smelled like eggs.

"Hey, you're awake." Scott said, "Uh, didn't know what you wanted so I hope eggs are good."

"That's fine." She stood up and walked shakily over to the chair. Second day in a row with a hangover. Good thing she healed quick, "So...this might be a bit awkward to ask, but did we..."

"Huh? Uh, no, definitely not." Well he didn't have to sound so defensive about it, "I mean you were pretty drunk and it was pretty late. Just put you on the couch."

"Huh...well, thanks." She meant it. It was nice having someone to watch her back, "So remind me did I say anything stupid last night?"

"Not unless you count you gushing about Laura and how much you really want your future kids to be like her." He grinned. Cindy couldn't tell if he was joking or not, "It's fine. We've all been there."

"Some of us more than others." She brought a hand through her hair and picked up the other pan, "Scoot over, I'm not just gonna let you cook for my drunk butt."

"It's fine."

"Seriously, it's cool." She clapped him on the shoulder, "Come on, let's get cooking."

They cooked the hearty breakfast together and spent the next couple of hours exchanging parenting tips. It was the first time in a while she didn't feel like Spinerette and that the city would blow up while she wasn't looking.

* * *

**UntouchedFlower: **Went to dinner with the parents couple nights ago and saw **Spinerette **out on a date with Prince Silver Sablinov. Are we looking at New York's nest #powercouple? **-embedded image-**

**Reply from Cryo Lockdown: **Huh...guess it makes sense. Of course a prince would be dating a superhero.

**Reply from Submaranian: **I'm not too sure about that. My brother was at the food court yesterday and caught this. That's definitely Spinerette eating with a guy and two kids. **-embedded image-**

**Reply from anony mouse: **I recognize the kid to her left. That's the girl who helped them fight the evil Cindy Moon on top of Dyne tower last year.

**Reply from Crimsop3nny: **She's been coming to my little girl's school anytime that kid gets in trouble. I guess she counts as her parent? Weird.

**Reply from anony mouse: **Think she's dating that guy with the kid?

**Reply from UntouchedFlower: **Lol there's no way someone like Spinerette would date someone so lame looking. Like if you had to choose between an actual prince and a guy who looks like he hasn't changed his shirt in a week who would you pick?

**Reply from Spinerette: **I'd pick the guy I actually liked, who is none of any of your business. Please, and I say this sincerely and from the bottom of my heart, get a life and stop prying into mine. Thank you.

* * *

**Date chapter ended. This one was pretty light but we'll go back to the plot next chapter. I tried to write these two in a semi Betty and Veronica kind of thing. Silver's has less trust but more physicality (sex), he can fight on par with her and there's the potential for Cindy to trust him in the future. Scott, on the other hand, is much warmer and friendlier right out of the gate but, as he says, he can't really talk about Superhero stuff cause he doesn't understand it as a civilian.**

**So what do you guys think? Who comes across as the better romantic interest? Gimme your thoughts I'll put up a poll on my profile as well.**

**Questions:**

**1\. Big thing. I planned for Spider Island to be my final arc but I'm wondering if I should leave it more contained to New York like the PS4 game and just use the Devil's Breath. The latter fits the street level hero theme while being big enough to see how disastrous the consequences are. OTOH Spider-Island has a more epic feel since Queen could doom the entire world if she wins.**

**2\. As above, who's the better romantic interest between Scott or Silver?**

**What do you guys think? The more high stakes, epic Spider-Island or the city level, grimmer Devil's Breath? **

**Review Answers:**

**Brave2000 - He even switched to a suit just in time :P**

**Sly Assassin - Um...what?**

**Cha0s4ever - Out of curiosity, what were those few chapters that came off as lacking? As for Morbius, depends on whether cut arcs return. He was meant to be a Gwen villain with Wasp as backup.**

**Alexthesouthparkghostrider - Yeah, I doubt Doomslayer's here.**

**Titan616 - Something tells me it'll be the latter for demons. As for Gwen, it was a slip, but don't forget his full alias is Benjamin Peter Reilly. If the prof catches on they can just explain it away. **


	42. All Girls Schools and Fancy Parties

**Woof, big time gap between updates. I got FF7 remake, P5 Royal _and _my mentor finally responded for my thesis. On the bright side I feel better than before so maybe my writing can get better. Hopefully.**

**Anyway, I checked the love interest vote and wow it's overwhelmingly in Scott's favor. Hell Silver didn't even get any votes till the more recent days. What kind of world do we live in that no one cares for the dashing rebel prince over the single dad working at Baskin-Robbins? **

* * *

**caramba1995:** Gonna be real for a second here. **Spider-Man** is not someone to be admired. He's a killer vigilante and it's disturbing just how many people have posters of him up on their walls or say he's cool and wanna be just like him. Hello, dude's a killer!

**Reply ****from Haha im a tree:** He's also saved a lot of people. Remember the **Jack-o-Lantern terror spree**? Or how about when he and the **Defenders** did a last stand to protect the people in that safety zone during the **Carnage incident**? That and the big fucking DEMON in Times Square. There's a reason people like him.

**Reply ****from ****caramba1995: **So just because he does good we're supposed to ignore he's running around playing judge, jury and executioner?

**Reply ****from ****harrishen:** I'm not complaining for now. My niece was tricked into getting addicted and forced to sell herself on the streets. Who helped her out? It definitely wasn't the cops who just put her case on a file and forgot about it.

**Reply ****from Jar of Jelli: **Face it, dude, this is a losing battle. I don't agree with everything Spider-Man does but so far he's doing more good than bad. I live in Hell's Kitchen, and lemme tell ya life here has gotten WAY better now that there isn't some giant fucking tick demon making everyone miserable.

**Reply ****from DarkSpider: **He does have a point - it's disturbing how people want to emulate someone like me or Daredevil. You want someone to admire? Look at the Avengers, you've got six flavors of heroes right there if you want em. No one should aspire to be a vigilante who spends his days in back alleys seeing what slips through the city's cracks. There's a reason we never called ourselves Superheroes.

**Reply ****from MadameWeb: **I see your flair for the dramatic hasn't changed much. I shouldn't have expected any less, brother.

**Reply ****from Jar of Jelli: **Wait, what?"

**Reply ****from DarkSpider: **Damn it Teresa...

* * *

"Kill me now."

Gwen snorted and rolled her eyes at the dramatic declaration. Despite Peter's comments about her wearing her heart on her sleeve - which she didn't really see as anything wrong, by the by - he had his own flair for dramatics. He'd deny it, of course, say that he always reacted with an 'appropriate response for every situation', but then he said stuff like that every time he had to play nice or mention France. Which was weird since it sounded like a great place to her.

And now he wanted to kill himself cause they had to go to a fancy all girls school.

"What, not excited?" She bumped her right shoulder against his left with a grin. They were close to the Sisters Faith Academy- the same school Lana wouldn't stop complaining about given half a chance. Despite the name there wasn't actually much in the way of faith unless you 'counted how much faith you had that mommy and daddy's money can wipe your ass for you', to use Lana's words. Probably why she just called it 'the prison' every time.

According to what Peter told her Cindy wanted them to interview a girl who supposedly had info on the sudden Terrigen Mist exposure that happened yesterday. Apparently said girl, one Patricia Lindbeck, was a 'major fan' of both of them and figured this was her best chance to get some selfies. Wasn't much the police could do. So far the laws of Terrigen exposure were vague at best and it was pretty hard to determine if there was even a crime here or not. Even Peter wasn't sure if this was worth anything and the only reason they came here was a favor to Cindy.

That and she was pretty sure he really wanted to see Lana.

They were coming up on the school and they'd have to separate soon. Technically speaking they were still 'broken up' so walking in together would've looked too suspicious. She'd swing off and change to her costume while Peter hung around a nearby and hopefully not get arrested before she swung back. Police were still pretty iffy on him outside of when he was fighting demons and vampires and without his powers she didn't exactly like his odds of dodging bullets.

"This is me. See you in a minute." She kissed him quickly then ran off to somewhere nice and abandoned while he parked the bike somewhere else. She still preferred webswinging, "Come on, webs, let's get it done," she said as soon as she climbed up to a short building. She did a quick scan for drones and anyone else with cameras before shifting into her costume.

**'We are going to a school. How different is it from university?'** Webster asked.

_'Pretty different. ESU's more free and __most __profs don't care about you skipping classes as long as you turn in your work. Why? Thinking about enrolling?' s_he joked back. Webster was always hungry for information. If she wasn't nomming on chocolate she was begging for new books, mostly history to try and figure out how humans dealt with stuff. Hopefully she didn't get too cynical after reading about all the fucked up shit mankind did.

On the other hand she refused to read Gwen's books or feed her answers. That'd be cheating, she said, and cheating would be wrong.

**'Not for me, but for Chocolate. We need to think about her future.'**

_'Her name's Gabby.'_

**'Not in my heart.' **Gwen rolled her eyes. She was insistent that Chocolate was the be-all end-all of names and nothing would convince her otherwise, **'And I'm serious. I know she's getting an education now while she's with Laura but according to Cindy her host is prone to laziness and doesn't like to study. I'm not sure I want to trust our child's future to someone who says 'math is hard' every time Cindy scolds her.'**

_'Well we're gonna have to talk with Laura about that, especially since they seem convinced being a Superhero's the best thing to go for.'_ Not that she disagreed; being a hero was pretty awesome. She just didn't want her to do it while she couldn't even go to T rated movies,_ 'Speaking of the future, maybe you could-'_

**'I am not helping you cheat on your tests, Gwen.'**

_'Oh come on!_' She huffed internally, _'What's the harm in a little help here and there? You were totally willing to help me win that card game a year ago!'_

**'That was because you wanted to see Peter naked, which was harmless. We must draw the line somewhere, especially now that we have a child who looks up to us for guidance. We cannot teach her that cheating is the right way to succeed in life.'**

_'...You're no fun anymore.'_

**'Reading history books and watching the news numbs you. Seeing what mankind is capable of is depressing. I'm lucky you're my host else I might've decided it wasn't worth fighting for.'**

_'That's...weirdly heavy.'_

**'Don't worry. If I ever decided humanity is better under my rule I'll run it by you first.'**

_'...Please don't go groundweb on mankind, webs.'_

Shaking her head, Gwen swung over to the school gate and saw Peter already there standing near the gate with his back against the wall. He uncrossed his arms when he saw her, completely ignoring the gawking looks a few passerby gave him. Most of them seemed at least smart enough to duck their heads low and ignore him. Peter was prickly when it came to getting attention from strangers.

"Look who's here," he said, voice dripping with condescension. Even now she hated the fact that they had to pretend to hate each other's guts every time they were in public, "For someone who told me to come here you're pretty damn late."

"Some of us actually have lives outside of the mask, you know." She scoffed, "Trust me, if the witness didn't want _both _of us talking to her I wouldn't have called you here. Now come on, let's get this over with so I can go on pretending you don't exist."

They walked to the front, bypassing the guard who looked like he was tempted to shoot at Peter to get the next headline. Gwen made a 'calm down' gesture and nudged her head to the school before he eventually nodded back and returned to his booth. She couldn't blame him for being wary. Peter didn't have the best reputation and while a lot of those rumors were bullshit - she was pretty sure he didn't have blades growing out of his wrists - she understood the effect he had on people. The only reason they got this far was cause their witness told everyone who'd listen that they were visiting.

Sadly the receptionist wasn't as cooperative.

"As I said before, I can't let you in." The bespectacled, 40 something woman looked up at Peter from her desk without a hint of fear or hesitation. Gwen had to admit, it was ballsy, "I understand that Ms. Lindbeck was insistent that you be allowed to interview her but we cannot simply let someone like you walk around the school."

"Trust me, I don't wanna be here either but one of your precious princesses said that we both had to talk to her or she wasn't gonna spill anything about that damn mist. You wanna try solving this on your own?"

"Even still-"

"Ms. Steinman," Gwen interrupted. Thank god for nametags, "I understand your concern. Trust me, I wouldn't be here with him if we had any alternatives, but this is where we are. If you want Spider-Man to leave then wouldn't it be best to convince Ms. Lindbeck to talk to me or Lana alone?" She wouldn't exactly be against Peter leaving right now. Acting like she hated him was exhausting and she didn't like how some of the students looked at him. Most of them (wisely) decided to not draw attention but there were a brave few who battered their eyelashes and threw a few giggles his way.

What that the 'bad boy charm' Eugene said Peter had? Cause right now it was annoying the hell out of her.

"You wanna find out where that mist came from, don't you?" Peter said, "We're the best chance of that, unless you want your investments to start sprouting scales. And you don't gotta worry about any guns;' left those with your buddy outside."

The older woman closed her eyes, took a deep breath then, after some very obvious hesitation, handed them two guest passes, "You're to make your way to Ms. Lindbeck's room then come back and return the passes. No deviation or exploring, am I clear?"

"Trust me, I wouldn't be here if I didn't owe someone a favor." He grabbed the ID and checked the text from Lana on directions. According to the message she sent them both it was at the end of the right, second floor hallway. She said she'd meet them there.

Gwen barely made it to the stairway before a mob of girls stopped her asking for the usual stuff: autographs, selfies, a personalized message for tweeter. She tried to push past them but they were insistent. Peter looked back and she _swore_ she saw the fucking smirk on his face before he waved and disappeared up the stairway. Even without his powers he was really hard to pin down.

She was forced to give at least a few signatures before finally managing a way out. Regular fans were bad. Teenage girls who were used to getting everything they wanted? Even worse.

She got right up the stairway just in time to see Lana suddenly jump tackle Peter in an embrace. Despite her previous feelings of jealousy she couldn't stop the smile on her face at their tight hug and the way Lana laughed. After what happened to Lana Peter couldn't stop thinking about the Hand. Hopefully her getting better allowed him to cool off at least somewhat.

**'I'm proud of you, Gwen. Jealousy is unbecoming.'**

_'Ah, shut up.'_

The pair separated as Gwen walked up to them, "Hey, Spider-Woman." She gave her a half smile and a nod, "Glad you two could make it. Sorry for the sudden call-out."

"It's fine. But you owe me for those damn autographs." She tugged uncomfortably at the visitors pass slung around her neck. In a place like this it felt like a collar, "So...who's the girl?"

"Patricia Lindbeck aka prissy bitch brunette edition." Lana sneered and jerked her thumb up to the door halfway down the hall, "She says she knows something about the fucking peanut mist and I figured we might as well get to the bottom of it before we get another boom. Trust me, you do not want to see most of these witches getting powers. We've got swiftgram Gifted running around."

"How do you know she's even telling the truth?" Peter asked, "From what I've seen in this place they'll say anything to get more of those 'upvote' things and gain validation from strangers."

"Cause I told her I'd smash her phone if she is. And trust me, these trust fund babies know I'll do it." She sighed and crossed her arms, "Just hurry it up already. As happy as I am to see you both it's pretty weird you two being here."

"Not coming?" Peter asked.

"She wanted it to be just you two." She sneered, "Don't worry, I'll be right outside."

Gwen knocked on the door and was met with wide, blue eyes and an excited squeal that nearly burst her eardrums, "Oh my god, you're here! You're both here!" She squealed again and opened the door to let them in. She and Peter shared a look before she warily stepped inside with Peter right behind her. Even with both of them wearing masks it was easy to feel exposed.

Before either of them could say anything she suddenly went right next to Gwen and took a selfie, "Oh, those bitches aren't gonna believe this!" She grinned and started typing on her phone, completely ignoring them both. They shared another look and she saw his eyes narrow underneath the goggles. He was losing patience.

"Excuse me, Ms-"

Again she was ignored in favor of her suddenly posing next to Peter and taking another selfie. Gwen ignored the stab of annoyance in her gut at how blatantly she draped herself across his right shoulder when she took said picture. The price of fame, to quote She-Hulk. She'd had at least a few Roxxons try and come on to her and Peter didn't lose his shit there so she could do the same.

"Ohh, could we-"

"Enough," Peter said. His voice made it clear he was all out of fucks to give, "You called us here because you had information. What is it?"

"Later. I just gotta-"

He looked like he was about to snatch the phone out of her hands and chuck it out the window. Gwen cut in before he could, "Please, we don't have much time," Gwen said, once again trying to play good cop, "You called us here specifically and we appreciate you doing this, but we both have things we need to do...like I'm pretty sure he needs to put someone in the ICU before he gets too antsy," she added at the end. Hated each other, had to remember that.

"Yeah, and I'm sure she has a few more charity events she has to attend. Gotta make herself feel better from that high up pedestal." Peter scoffed.

"Wow, you two really don't like each other, huh? Thought that was just a rumor. Heh, guess those posts were right." Gwen decided not to ask _which_ posts exactly she was referring to. She sat down on the bed and crossed her right leg over her left in a way Gwen knew was too deliberate to be natural. Gwen wasn't blind. She'd dealt with enough celebrity crushes to know the telltale signs and judging by the way she looked at Peter and occasionally bit her lip she had it for Peter. Bad.

She wasn't worried, at least not on Peter's end. The girl was pretty, at least in the way someone who had access to high end cosmetics and fancy organic food could be, but but Peter didn't care about that stuff. She was more worried about her. Like the girls asking for autographs earlier, they didn't know when to take no for an answer.

"The information?" Peter asked, looking her in the eyes and nowhere else.

"Oh, right." She leaned back slightly on the bed with a smile. He still didn't look anywhere else, "I overheard a couple of my classmates. They think Baumgartner's only here cause she's got special powers so they thought that if they could get those too she wouldn't stick out so much."

"Not you, though?" Peter asked.

"Me? No way. I've seen what that mist thing does. You really think I'd give up all this and probably get like scales or feathers or something? Not happening." Well, at least someone here had a bit of sense, "Thing is some people here _really_ don't like Baumgartner. Think she doesn't belong here with the rest of us. Me? I don't care. I don't talk to her and she doesn't talk to me and we both like it that way."

"I'm sure she's happy to hear that." Gwen rolled her eyes, "The names?"

"Hold up, there's something else I want." Peter let out a long suffering sigh next to her but didn't say anything, "Hey, I'm putting my neck out here. This place can be pretty dang cutthroat so once I tell you who these two are they're gonna come after me. I think that deserves something, don't you?" She gave them both, mostly Peter, a sickly sweet smile.

"...What do you want?" Peter muttered.

"I want something from both of you. Spider-Woman, my dad's doing a charity dinner and we'd get way more attention if you showed up."

"...What's the charity for?"

"The Children's Wish foundation." It took everything Gwen had not to sigh. A make a wish knock off that spent maybe 1% of their actual donations on the kids while the rest went to salaries, private parties and more and more fundraisers. She wouldn't have been caught dead on one of these things but she figured a swing-by would be enough if it meant getting the info.

"Fine. What do you want from Spider-Man?" she asked.

"Show me your face." She was looking right at Peter when she said that, though that wasn't much relief. Peter crossed his arms and just looked at her without saying a word, "Come on, it's not a big deal. Everyone already knows what you look like cause of that Jack-o-Lantern guy. I don't even know why you're still wearing a mask. I just wanna see what you look like when your face isn't messed up. Not a big deal, right?"

Gwen's hands twitched, "Hey this isn't-"

"Fine." Gwen's head snapped to Peter, her eyes wide. He didn't look at her, "Just for a few seconds and you don't take any pictures. I'll know if you try and I'll smash that phone yours and get a friend of mine to delete every single thing on your sky storage if you do. We clear?"

"Fine, fine." It was obvious she was put off and probably hoping to score a few more selfies.

Peter pulled off his mask. His face was expressionless and didn't change at all when she suddenly stood and leaned close to get a better look at him. Seeing him in his full costume was enough to make her forget that he didn't have his powers now outside of his spider-sense. The girl continued to look and made to poke him when he suddenly grabbed her wrist.

"The names?"

"Fine, a deal's a deal." She huffed and sat back down, "It's these two." She pulled out her phone and showed them a picture of two girls side by side. The girl to the left was tan with dark hair done up in meticulous curls while the right was pale and had straight blonde hair that went down to the small of her back, "One on the left is Gabriella Morgan and her friend is Diana Hawthorne. I overheard them talking about how they heard from a friend of a friend on how they could get some packed in mist."

"Did they say any names?" Gwen asked.

"Ah...something about Diamonds?"

"Diamondback." Peter scowled before putting his mask back on. Gwen got why. It was the same bitch who shot Lana in the face with a shotgun. If she didn't get her new powers then and there she wouldn't be here right now.

"I guess so." Lindbeck shrugged without a care, "Oh, but if you're hoping to talk to them you're out of luck. They both went home; a bunch of people did after that mist thing showed up. My guess is they plan to come back and make their superpowered debut next week. They're gonna pretend they weren't responsible for the mist and it was all just some lucky accident. Then they show up Baumgartner and get to be the Queen Bees again."

"They seriously made a deal with a crazy gang member and exposed themselves to the mist just cause of that?" Gwen sighed. She'd understand if they wanted to do something with their powers, especially with the Initiative, but just for a high school pissing match?

"Popularity's _everything_ around here. I'm happy in my own spot but most people here'll do anything to get to the top of that totem pole."

"That should be enough," Peter said, "...Thanks for all your help."

"No problem." She fluttered her eyelashes up at him and twirled her right pointer finger in a lock of hair, "So, now that business is over how about the two of us go out? I know a great place around here." Was she seriously...

Oh hell no.

"That's not-"

"Back off," Gwen said before she could stop herself. Both of them turned to look at him, the girl in shock while Peter narrowed his eyes in silent reprimand for breaking character. She scrambled quickly and turned to Peter, "Back off," she said again, firmer this time, "I know what you're like and if you think I'm going to let you get anywhere near this girl you've got another thing coming."

"But I was the one who-"

"Just because you were a terrible girlfriend doesn't mean you get to blame me." His eyes shifted again. Relief that they hadn't gotten caught out and they had an escape, "You know what, I'm done here. Have fun signing autographs."

He walked out the door without another word. The teenager looked at the door, mouth agape, and Gwen followed him out just before she heard the frustrated scream behind her. She had to admit a part of her felt bad for the girl, but considering they got practically blackmailed to come here the sympathy was thin.

She returned the visitors pass (Peter already did his) and, after making sure no one was looking, swung up to the school roof from behind the building. When she got there Peter was already sitting on one of the vents while Lana sat on a nearby chair with her feet propped up against a low wall. She waved at Gwen lazily and finished off the bag of chips at her lap.

"You sure we're safe to talk here?" Gwen asked. She would've preferred somewhere more discreet. Maybe a good high rise building.

"Yeah, no one ever comes up here. School roof's forbidden to students and these witches don't wanna get caught breaking the rules," she said, "So how'd it go? Did she manage to keep it in her skirt?"

"A little warning about that would've been nice," Peter said with a frown.

"I knew you could handle it. 'Sides, I figured Spider-Woman would keep you safe." She gave them both a teasing smile, "So spill, what'd she say."

"Gabriella Morgan and Diana Hawthorne. She thinks those two made a deal with Diamondback to get some mist in a can and they're gonna make their Gifted debut next week," Gwen said. Still felt stupid just listening to it.

"Diamondback? Of course that bitch has her claws on this." Lana breathed out through her nose and tossed the empty pack of chips next to her without a care, "Guess that gives me even more reason to pay her back for chunking my head." It was still bizarre how she casually she treated getting shotgunned in the face, "Still, next week, you said? Perfect. I'll be able to catch these two witches when I get back."

"You're leaving?" Peter asked.

"Yeah. School's cancelled the rest of the week cause of the mist so Sue thought it'd be cool if we went out of the city on a little camping thing to help me recover from this." She pulled back her uniform shirt and both Gwen and Peter winced when they saw the jagged, ugly scar at her gut, "I mean if I had my way I'd be out there as Striker right now but you don't argue with Sue. That's something you never win."

"A camping trip...you sure it's safe to be so isolated right now?"

"What, you think this place is any safer?" Lana snorted, "'Sides, Bullseye's done. Spider-Woman took care of him."

"...What?" Peter looked at her and Gwen felt something click into place. Oof, she knew she forgot something, "What do you mean?"

"Right, I was gonna tell you but then you showed up looking all normal again and it slipped my mind." Gwen shook her head, "Ran into Bullseye while me and Scarlet Spider were doing that favor for Cindy. They were making a deal with Scorpion's guys and me and Kate stopped them. Bullseye was there too and...well, I kicked his ass. He should be in Ryker's right now."

"Sure that was a good idea...?"

"I wasn't going to _kill_ him." She crossed her arms, "Either way he's in prison now so that's our problem solved. Oh, and I gave your knife to Kate for safekeeping. I didn't wanna give it to you while you were still bite sized and we should probably wait for your powers to come back before you go around slinging demon fire again."

"Wait, you lost your powers?" Lana asked.

"Temporarily. Blame Teresa." He sighed and stood, "I should really be going. Promised Cin I'd meet up with her in a few minutes. She got the party invites so now's a good chance to put it behind us."

"I gotta go too. Kate said she's done investigating and we should be able to track where Scorpion was stashing his weapons." She stretched her arms above her head and breathed out deeply. Back to work, "Hey...I don't wanna be _that_ girl again, but be careful, okay? Without your powers..."

"I know. I'll be careful. See you two around."

* * *

**Ultimate Trash Boy: **So apparently **Spider-Woman** and **Spider-Man** went to an all-girls school. Thought they were broken up.

**Reply from QueenoftheTVworld:** They are. I have a friend who has a cousin who goes to the school and she said that they were arguing. Apparently one of the students there is a witness and she wanted to talk to both of them.

**Reply from ****Unoriginal Name: **Should've known they wouldn't stop talking to each other :/

**Reply from ****Silver-Blade:** Does it even count when they still don't like each other? Apparently **Striker** likes him so I wouldn't be surprised if the two of them end up dating at some point.

**Reply from Unoriginal Name: **Nah, she and** Sue Storm** are a thing.

**Reply from StrikerNotBombshell: **How many times do I have to tell you assholes I'm not gay before it sticks? Cindy ain't gonna call you Onii-chan either so stop fucking sending her those creepy PM's. It's not cute, it's fucking annoying.

* * *

Cindy was chugging her third cup of coffee by the time he finally arrived. Peter raised a brow and eyed the cups, "Interesting night?" he asked sarcastically.

"Not as much as you think. Just exchanged some parenting tips." She finished her cup and put it down with the other two next to her, "You're late, by the way."

"I was busy doing that favor for you," he shot back, "Now come on, let's get this over with." He tugged on the collar of his suit and with a frown. Cindy said the party was black tie required so they had to dress up again. Cindy herself had gone above and beyond, dying her hair a light shade of blonde and putting on just the right amount of make-up to mask her most obvious features. No one would know she was Spinerette unless they were deliberately looking.

"Someone seems grumpy." She threw all of the cups to the trash and walked next to him shoulder-to-shoulder, "Didn't enjoy your time at the all girls school?"

"Not really." He still wasn't used to people being...'fans' of him. He was well aware that he was a murderous vigilante and those shouldn't have gotten fans. Not him, not Moon Knight or Castle or Murdock. It's why they worked best in the Kitchen, "Do me a favor, next time you need someone to do an interview in a school or a convention? Talk to someone else. Or get your police buddies to actually do their damn job."

"Fine, fine. No more throwing you to those scary schoolgirls." She put a hand on her neck and cracked away the last of her previous hangover, "You ready?"

"Yeah." He nodded. They were going through the front door so that meant no guns, no knives, nothing else they could use to their advantage. Without his powers he'd be going in there with a target on his head, "At least one of us has powers..." He put his hands into his pockets and kicked a stone down the street. With any luck they wouldn't have to do much fighting.

"Just don't agitate any people packing guns and we should be good."

He was about to snark back when his spider-sense rang softly. Not danger, "...We're being followed." Cindy's eyes narrowed and she reached for her gun before Peter stopped her, "It's not dangerous. It's..."

"Mom."

...Damn it.

He looked back and sighed when he saw his brother's kid right behind them. She looked up at them with those wide, brown eyes of hers and Cindy's features immediately softened. Great, "What are you doing here, kid?" He didn't really know what to say to her. The only time he ever really talked to her was after she found out about her brother's kids. He mostly found it odd how quickly his brother and Cindy had taken to her.

"Yeah, I'm with him," Cindy said, "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be doing your in-school suspension?"

"The teacher let me out. She thinks it's wrong I got in trouble because I stopped Mortimer from hurting Cassie." Someone was getting fired, "I was bored so I followed your scent. You are going to do something dangerous. I want to come."

"Absolutely not." Cindy shook her head, "Listen, this is...none of this is exactly kid friendly, okay?"

"I have done worse," she said nonchalantly. Before Cindy could counter Gwen's kid - Gabbie or Chocolate or the pink menace, whatever it was called now - stuck out of her neck, though it was still hidden under the hoodie she wore, "Gabbie also wants to go. She thinks that it will be good practice for when we become heroes later."

"They aren't going to let a kid in. This isn't exactly an all-ages party," Peter said.

"We can sneak inside. Gabbie makes it easy," she insisted, looking up at Cindy with puppy dog eyes. It was obvious by the look that she was going to cave, "Please, I want to help you and uncle."

"...Uncle?"

"You are dad's brother, so you are my uncle," she said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Peter just looked down at her blankly. What exactly was he supposed to say to that? "Family is family."

_'Technically the both of us our cousins as well since mom is going to marry Peter at some point,'_ The pink menace added.

"Uh...not so sure that's how it works."

"Just leave her be, Pete," Cindy shook her head, "Laura wants a big family, so if she decides you're her uncle then you're her uncle. Just accept it." Well, apparently he had a niece now. He wasn't even sure if he he was fine with being the godfather to Gwen's new little sister and now this? He was too tired to deal with it, "That aside, I'm not sure how comfortable I am with this plan of yours, Laura."

"I'll go even if you say no."

"Cindy, we don't have time to argue about this. Party starts in five minutes." He checked his watch, "She can take care of herself, right? That and with Gwen's kid she's stronger than either of us. Better to keep her close so you can keep an eye on her."

"You just said the party wouldn't let her in."

"She doesn't have to go in. Put her outside on recon so we can have some backup." And if they did everything right they wouldn't even have to get into a fight. Shouldn't take much to kidnap this Mr. Brownstone and drag him out.

"...Fine." Laura beamed, "But you're staying right outside. I'll leave my phone open so make sure you keep in contact, okay?"

"Understood."

"...Come on, Pete, let's do this."

The party reminded him of a low class rave. Despite the fancy attire and large house on display the place looked more like a drug den than anything else. Men and women danced (read: grinded against each other) on the center while loud music blared above them. The smell of thick booze in the air was all too familiar while the strobing lights made his head pound.

"We really going to find him here?" Peter asked Cindy.

"You're the one with the beefed up spider-sense. Did those guys lie to us?"

"No." Then again they still could've been wrong. Whatever, this was still their best lead. Peter made his way to the bar and picked up one of the free glasses at the counter. His spider-sense immediately blared, "Spiked." He handed the cup over to Cindy. She frowned and set it down, "Guess that explains why everyone's so blitzed around here." He had mixed feelings on addicts. For the most part he didn't care for them; apart from a rare few kept addicted on purpose most of them chose to dive into that rabbit hole. Gwen felt pity for everyone but as far as he was concerned if you dug your own grave you could lie in it.

Just like Urich did...

"I don't think everyone here's been spiked." She gestured to the people sitting around corners who stared up at the air blankly, "Look at them. Doesn't look like something you get from a drink, right?"

"I'll check." He knelt down in front of them and tilted their head down. Blank, wide eyes, open mouths and slack limbs. Heroin, just like Cindy's overdosed interrogatees. No needle marks either. Their guy was here.

"Interested in something?" A deep baritone asked behind him. Peter looked back and saw a guy easily a foot taller than him (not as if that was hard...) looking down with a suspicious glare.

"Whatever these guys are on? I want in." He smiled in the same sort of sleazy way he'd seen on way too many addicts and dealers, "I actually got a girl with me and I was hoping...well, you know." He eyed Cindy like she was a piece of meat. The guard followed his look and whistled, "You know what I'm getting at, right? Don't want her goin' to the cops showing needle marks."

"Yeah, I get ya." So now he had the guy's approval. And he felt sick, "Alright, fine. You take your friend and follow me up. You got money, right? Cause this shit don't come free."

"No problem there." He winked and handed the guy a hundred dollar bill tip before going back to Cindy. He grabbed her by the arm and whispered, "Guy thinks I'm about to date rape you. Just play along and he'll take us up to his boss."

"One of the classics, huh? Fine." She suddenly giggled and draped an arm around him while he led her up. He put a hand around the small of her back and threw a thumbs up at the guard with the other. They both followed him up the stairs and Peter felt the thrum of his spider-sense growing more steady. Danger, but nothing specific for now. Just danger all around them.

"Over here."

The guard opened a door the sleaze hit him straight in the face. The stench of booze was even worse compared to before and what he saw made his stomach churn. Men and woman in various states of undress draped across a circular couch while the man of the hour himself sat the center like the king of the castle.

Mr Brownstone, real name unknown. He was an older man, probably in his late 30's judging by his features, with short hair and a neatly trimmed goatee. Handsome if not for the sleazy grin on his face. The white suit he wore was deceptively plain and messy but the smile on his face when he saw them spoke volumes. Judging by the men and women around Peter guessed the guy crossed both streets and didn't much care for consent.

He counted three guards - the one who led him here and two at the entrance. Each of them were packing pistols. Easy enough for both of them deal with even without his powers.

"Well now, another customer?" His voice was deep and smooth. Calming in a way if not for the drugged up people around him, "Lemme guess, you're looking for the untraceable fix."

"You know it." Ugh, kill him now. "But, uh, we don't gonna give any blood, right? Cause I did that with this cult a couple months back and trust me, the drugs ain't worth the shit they did with it." Technically not a lie. The Hand took more than enough of his blood during his time in their camp.

"Nothing so ritualistic. Just give me the money alongside the drug of your choice and find a spot. I can put it in your system easy and without a trace. No need for dirty needles and no risk of infection or overdose." Except for the ones he does it to deliberately. Peter pursed his lips and gave Cindy a barely perceptible nod, "Now, should we get started? I have-"

Peter grabbed the guard who led him there and pulled the gun from his holster. He barely had a chance to scream before Peter hit him straight in the neck with the butt of the pistol. He hit him again in the back of the head just as Cindy incapacitated both guards behind them, leaving one of them stuck to the wall in a blanket of webbing while the other was sprawled out on the ground.

She picked up one of the pistols and they both aimed at him, "Mr. Bronstone, I assume? You're a difficult man to find."

"And judging by that webbing you're Spinerette." He leaned back on the couch seemingly without a care, "I'm curious what a big-time Avenger like you'd want with a guy like me. Avengers go after dealers now?"

"Don't play dumb. I've lost three information sources cause of you." She clicked off the safety and stepped closer, "Now this is how it's going to go. You're going to come with me and tell me _exactly _how you did that and anyone else you have on your list."

"Or what?"

"Or I kill you here and now and at least get a guarantee that I won't get any more overdoses any time I try to interrogate someone."

"A summary execution, is it? And here I thought the Avengers stood as the heroes of our time." He sighed, "Fine then."

Both of their spider-senses blared. All of the addicts around them suddenly began to convulse, frothing at the mouth and screaming incoherently before lunging towards them. It wasn't a danger, but it was enough of a distraction for the bastard to slip past them down the hall, "Shit!" Cindy aimed a shot at his back but the door closed before she could pull the trigger.

"We need to hurry!" He shoved one of the frothing addicts to the floor and opened the door only for his spider-sense to blare again. He pulled back just in time to avoid the barrage of machine gun fire that lit up the door, "Shit..." He peeked his head up slightly and ducked back to cover before they could get a shot off. He counted at least half a dozen, all of them with assault rifles.

Cindy took up the other side of the doorway, gun drawn, "That must be his second line." She looked with pity at the first line. Most of the addicts got caught in the crossfire and those that didn't were frothing at the last few seconds of overdose. Bastard, "Hall's too narrow for me to swing over. See any other way out for me to flank them?"

"Not where I can-"

His phone rang. Peter opened it and furrowed his brows at the unknown number on the screen. Just what he needed, "Whoever this is now's not a-"

"Spider-Man." He knew that voice, "I'm in position nearby and can provide covering fire. Just say when."

"Castle? What...no, I'll ask later." He gestured to Cindy and tightened his grip on the pistol with his free hand, "Fine, on three seconds take out two of the gunmen."

"Acknowledged."

3, 2, 1...Peter heard the sound of bullets impacting against bone. The gunmen turned, distracted by the new attacker, and they both charged. Cindy swung overhead raining bullets down while Peter did the same from the ground. It didn't take long for the second line to fall and they went down hall, "I'm repositioning," Castle said.

"If you find a guy in a suit with a goatee shoot him in the leg." He put the phone back in his pocket and grabbed some spare magazine from the bloody pile.

Cindy kicked the door down and jumped over the railing. Noir ran down the stairs, ignoring the stares of the few partygoers who weren't too stoned to completely ignore the gunfire, "We should split up." She pointed to two, slightly ajar doors, "I'll go left, you go right. You still have the codec, right?"

"Yeah. Go."

They nodded to one another and Peter went through the right door. He kept the gun raised and ran down the hall warily, listening for every little ping from his spider-sense. Right now it was the only advantage he had over these mooks.

Case in point.

He pulled back to avoid the shot that came from the corner of the hall. He peeked around the corner and fired at the hint of leg from the opposite wall. A short scream came and Peter shot him twice in the chest before continuing, "Can't find a good position," Castle said from his phone, "I'll focus on cutting off reinforcements instead."

"Thanks." He ducked into an empty room and waited till another rent-a-goon passed . He shot him in the back of the head and grabbed another magazine, "So what the hell are you doing here? Thought you were in Mexico or South America."

"Murdock called me. Interesting message." Well, that was a surprise, "Norah told me about this too and said you might need help after your friend told her you didn't have your powers."

"Hm." Of course it was Norah. She was weirdly to the guy despite her personality.

"Pete, you there?" Cindy chimed in, "Going through the hall, I think I'm catching up with this guy. Where you at?"

"Not sure, but I think we're close. I can hear the gunfire from here." He wiped the blood on his coat and put in a fresh magazine. Fighting without his powers was definitely an...experience.

He was almost out when his spider-sense blared one last time. Another mook in a suit charged him from a nearby door and pinned him against the wall. Peter grimaced and tried to raise the gun only for the giant palooka to knock it out of his hands. The large rent-a-goon snarled down at him and pushed harder against his neck to keep from breathing.

His vision swam and darkened. He tried to remember those lessons Stick beat into him and grabbed the brute's wrist. Just the right amount of pressure at the perfect spot and...

"Ahhh!" The grunt screamed and stumbled back, holding on his left arm that felt like it was on fire right now. Taking in some shaky breaths, Peter kicked the bastard in the face and grabbed the gun again. He barely looked up before Peter aimed right between his eyes and fired.

"...Damn it." He rubbed his no doubt bruising throat and stumbled down the hall. Maybe he should've gotten an extra month of lessons from Stick. Rand said he and that Colleen woman he knew were offering training. Might take them up on that.

"Gotta fix this..." He stopped and, after making sure he was alone, put a hand on his neck and focused. His healing hadn't gotten much better, mostly due to lack of training. A part of him wanted to go back and check to see if any of those people were still cling to life from their overdose and if he could fix them. But he knew that was a fool's errand. Healing some bruises wasn't the same as fixing what was inside.

He met up with Cindy near the exit, "Hey, you alright?" she asked worriedly.

"I'm fine." Last thing he needed was her hovering over him, "Both halls converged here. We shouldn't have split up."

"Hindsight, Pete." She raised her gun, "Come on, let's finish this."

Cindy kicked down the door then stopped mid-charge when they saw what was on the other side. An empty lot with cars that were probably meant to be used as an escape plan. Which would've worked if not for the fact that everyone, Mr. Brownstone included, was tied up in thick, pink webbing that would've left them all helpless even if most of them weren't beaten unconscious.

Then there was Laura, sitting on one guard's back wearing the most nightmarish costume he'd ever seen. He'd have bad dreams about that tonight.

Cindy looked at the sight in front of her and groaned, "...What the f-"

"I told you I could help," Laura said, smug in the way only kids could be, "Do you trust me now?"

_'Not bad for a first time!'_ The pink menace cheered.

"We'll talk about this later, okay?" She knelt down and, after sharpening her fingers, cut the web covering the drug lord's face. He looked up at them with a glare, all sense of smug superiority gone, "Now, we were talking before? Wanna take my deal now?"

"Don't act as if you hold all the cards." He sneered up at her, "You play the part of the stone cold bitch but I know your type. You wouldn't sacrifice people to get what you want." Laura's eyes narrowed and she flexed her hands, just barely keeping her claws contained, "You think I have access only to the people here? Oh no, I've got dozens of people all across the city. Addicts, loved ones who I used as collateral...one thought and they'll all die horribly."

"I could just kill you right now. That's still an option." Cindy growled.

He laughed at that. It was loud enough that it echoed all across the enclosed lot, "You think I don't have a failsafe? If I die all of them die too." Spider-sense, "I'd have to be an idiot not to have insurance-"

Peter shot him in the face. Cindy flinched back slightly and surprise then looked at him, "He was lying." He tapped the side of his head and, after a seconds hesitation, she nodded.

"Alright, I'm trusting you." She dropped the 'borrowed' gun and sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, "Damn it, I really hoped we could've taken him. Guy like him would've known a lot..."

"It was either him or those people. Choice was obvious." Even if he didn't feel much pity for addicts he wasn't exactly keen to throw them to the grinder. His life wasn't worth theirs.

"Yeah, don't worry I'm not judging you." She looked at the webbed guards, "Not sure if we can bring these guys in for interrogation considering what we just did. Ah, whatever, I'll think of something. Least I won't get any more sudden overdosing when I talk to someone."

"So it's not a complete waste of time." He rubbed his neck, "We done here?"

"Yeah, I guess. I gotta clean this mess up and get Laura back home. You gonna talk to Punisher?"

"Might as well. Take care of yourself, Cin."

"You too, Pete."

* * *

**Get Yeeted: FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman, **I'm gonna bite the bullet and ask: what kind of guys are you into?"

**Reply from ****Sammy: **Oh boy, here we go...

**Reply from ****BulkyQuasar22: **Cringe.

**Reply from ****FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman: **That's blunt.

**Reply from ****Get Yeeted: **No point in beating around the bush.

**Reply from FriendlyNeighborhoodSpiderWoman: **Fine, I'll give you a hint since you're so ballsy. I like nice guys, as in the genuine kind. Someone who can put others above themselves. That applies to girls too. That's all I'm saying about that.

**Reply from Get Yeeted: **Come on, that's not enough! It's so generic too! How about something a little more specific? :)

**Reply from FriendlyNeighorboodSpiderWoman: **Is 'Not you' specific enough?

**Reply from BulkyQuasar22: **Oof, there it is."

* * *

**This chapter went through some changes. Originally Noir was going to have a fight club segment and he was also supposed to save Cindy from overdosing with chi. Former was cut for time and the latter was removed for contradicting Noir's established chi skill level.**

**Next chapter we'll have Lana's camping trip (along with more exposition on Aracely and possibly Sue's manifesting powers) with either a Mary Jane or Gwen segment to follow. Depends on which one you guys want more.**

**I'll put up a new vote for what finale you guys want. Vote there if you're interested.**

**Question:**

**1\. As said above, what do you guys want for the second segment after Lana's camping trip: Gwen being forced to flirt it up more with Roxxon or Mary Jane being caught in the awkward triangle between Felicia and Matt? **

**Review answers:**

**Hardlight - Kinky? Uh...not so sure about that.**

**AlexTheSouthParkGhostRider - They already have Ghost Rider for a heavy hitter.**

**titan616 - Laura doesn't mind if her family's weird; she just wants a big one, as she makes clear in this chapter. Now Noir is her uncle and any children he and Gwen have are going to be her cousins. More and more family!**

**Cha0s4Ever - Cindy takes to motherhood way too quick for someone who spent the past 10 years developmentally stunted. As for Scott being in danger, it's mentioned that most baddies do try to avoid using the typical 'take loved ones hostage' plan. For most heroes fighting bad guys is like a job, but if you make it personal chances are thou shalt not kill goes right out the window. Same reason why in the comic book Empowered villains generally avoid killing heroes - do that even once and the entire hero community goes on a bloodhunt.**

**As for the finale, I don't read X-Men all that much so no Utopia. That and I'm not much a fan of many X-Men story arcs.**


	43. All Work and All Play

**So I checked up on the votes and Devil's breath is leading by 4 over Spider Island. I'm somewhat surprised since it seemed like people were looking forward to the latter judging by the reviews.**

**Just to clarify, they obviously have different feels. Spider Island is more like a JRPG with a bunch of teenagers and young adults fighting a godlike entity. Spider Island is more downbeat and focuses on trying to save the city as the virus spreads and threatens to spill worldwide. **

**I'll keep the vote up a bit more. Maybe it'll change. **

* * *

Lana never really got the chance to be a kid. Growing up in the kitchen with a mom who had a career on the streets meant she didn't have the time or money to do the things other people her age did. No shopping cause they had to make clothes last; no birthday parties cause damn if they were going to spend that much money for cakes and streamers; no consoles cause the last time she begged for one her mom had to suck off guys in back alleys all night...

She remembered back in middle school. Her classmates were so excited for summer. Going on camping trips, leaving the country, visiting family...things she never got to do. Any time someone asked she'd just clam up or say some kind of lie. In truth she either stayed at home or wandered around aimlessly. When she got older she started going through the alleyways, hanging around small time dealers and sneaking into fight clubs to bet and get some pocket change.

She never hated her mom for it. At least, not after she grew up. Growing up the way she did she'd gotten to know some of her mom's old 'work friends' and she could count a single one that actually kept a kid after - and the state the kid was in made her look like a princess. Even now she didn't know why her mom kept her. Any time Lana asked she'd get mad, say that it was a stupid thing for a kid to ask their parent. For a while - when she was at her dumbest and angstiest - she wondered if it was because her mom wanted an in with William.

She knew better now. The both of them hated that prick.

Shaking her head, Lana ignored the heavy thoughts plaguing her and focused on the fire slowly cooking the marshmallow on a stick she held. It was Friday and their entire group had left for the campgrounds Sue recommended. It was a nice place. Not a lot of people and Sue managed to reserve them cozy spot close to a dock and lake. Apparently Sue went here with her family years ago. Before they got too busy being the big celebs.

Once her marshmallow was sufficiently brown and cooled she took a big bite and hummed happily at taste. Next to her Aracely stared wide-eyed at her own marshmallow and probably would've burned it if MVP hadn't nudged her right shoulder, "Hey, don't let it get burned." She nodded eagerly and swallowed it whole immediately. She started coughing immediately, singed tongue hanging out with tears in her eyes.

Lana sighed and handed her a bottle of water that she downed just as quickly as the marshmallow, "For a psychic you tend to rush into things a lot." So far she hadn't read their minds again. Or if she did then she didn't say it out loud. Lana didn't really care. She didn't have a lot to hide nowadays and she doubted Aracely would do anything with her thoughts. Not like there was anything interesting in there.

The rest of her friends sat around in a small circle around the campfire. She had to admit, it was kind of odd seeing them so out of their elements. Sue's designer blouses and skirts were replaced by a sky blue (of course) shirt and a pair of jean shorts and boots that almost made her look normal. Anya had ditched her normal, stuffy uniform and the spandex costume in favor of cargo pants, sneakers and a tanktop that left her tattooed arms exposed. They weren't expecting a fight out here but after what happened with that Jack-o-Lantern prick last year she wasn't taking any chances.

To Aracely's right MVP laughed at something Gabriel said as he made a smore. His shirt rode up slightly to expose his abs and Lana wasn't ashamed to admit she looked just a bit. Just cause she wasn't interested in dating didn't mean she was dead. Gabe laughed under his breath too, playing with the hem of his hoodie. Even now she still tried to keep himself layered. Reminder her of Pete.

Lana wiped her hands on her own tanktop and handed Aracely one of her marshmallows, "Here, don't want you to burn yourself." The younger girl nodded gratefully and dug into large, brown puff, ignoring the way they spilled on her shirt and shorts. Lana tried to ignore how much she felt like a babysitter at that moment.

"Surprised there's no one else here," Lana said, looking straight at Sue, "Please don't tell me you reserved the whole campground or something."

"O-Of course not!" Sue shook her head, "There's not a lot of camping this time. Most people are getting ready for Halloween so there really isn't much traffic." She smiled, "Still, it's not a bad thing. Means we don't have to share."

"God, this brings back memories." Anya hummed, "Back when I was training with the Spider Society they had me go on these weekend trips in forests and deserts. Wanted to make sure I wasn't 'dependent on the comforts of technology'." She snorted, "Funny considering they brought us there with a chopper every freaking time."

Lana scoffed, "Last time I went camping was when we had to run from Murdock's fucking ninjas." And they had a flaming skull biker with them. She still remembered that blue fire.

"That's right, you skipped the Initiative survival training," MVP said, "Guess being a vet has its perks."

Sure. Some of her 'classmates' weren't fans, though. Didn't get why she deserved to get fast tracked. So what if she helped save the city twice and was there fighting a demon in Times Square? She was just a newbie like the rest of them.

They weren't so cocky and jeering when they hit the sparring matches and obstacle courses.

"I've never been camping," Aracely said, "At least, I don't think so?"

"Still no luck getting your memories back?" Gabe asked sympathetically.

"No." She shook her head, though she was smiling, "I don't mind. I don't think it's as fun as what we're doing now."

"It'll come back eventually. There's no rush," Lana said lightly. All she had to do was make sure that whoever tried to get her was eating their teeth once they came out again. If Darkboy and Lightbitch were right they definitely deserved it.

"So I was meaning to ask," Anya started, "What happened with the whole Terrigen Mist thing? You figure out where it came from?"

"Yeah, but I'll tell ya later. We'll be dealing with a couple of witches next week." Lana grinned. Terrigen Mist itself was still a legal gray area but making deals with a known gang member with a history of killing cops was enough of a scandal all on its own. Mommy and daddy wouldn't be very happy when they found out, "Hey, I'm gonna go get some more firewood."

"I'll come with," MVP said. She didn't miss the reason why.

There were a bunch of pre-cut logs and an axe nearby. 'For the authentic camping experience', or so the way too chipper guide told them. People were really into pretending they were lumberjacks living in the elements.

"I should-"

"I'll do it," Lana cut him off. Before he could say anything else she set the wood upright on a nearby stump and split it in half. They didn't need a lot but she figured leaving some extra logs around wouldn't hurt. Not everyone wanted to play woodsman.

"I can-"

"I'm fine, dude. Chill." She rolled her eyes and set another log, ignoring the light throbbing in her gut. Ever since they met up there was always someone keeping an eye on. Mostly it was Anya or Sue, but Gabe and MVP did it too. The only one who left her alone was Aracely, "I got stabbed in the gut, big fucking deal. I've had worse." She split another leg. How anyone could find it fun was beyond her.

"You can't blame us for being worried." MVP sighed and sat nearby. He knew she wasn't going to stop now, "We thought we were going to lose you, Lana. If it wasn't for Scarlet Spider and Daredevil you would've bled out."

"Yeah, don't remind me." That was twice now she owed the Kingpin. First Jack and now Bullseye. Two psychopaths and it had to be Matt fucking Murdock coming to her rescue both times.

"I think I should." He sighed, "You got hit with some kind of magic knife that kept you from healing and you're acting like it's no big deal." There was a long, uncomfortable silence, broken only by the sounds of chopping wood, until he said, "...You need to trust us."

"I do trust you-"

"Not enough to not send us away," he interrupted, "Look, I get it. Your last 'team' wasn't exactly the most friendly and the only one you trusted was Spider-Man. But the whole lone wolf thing? It's not going to work forever."

"I sent you out to protect people." She cut split the last log and embedded the axe on the stump, "It's nothing dramatic, alright? Just leave it."

Her sighed again and stood, gathering the chopped logs in those beefy arms of his, "All I'm saying is you shouldn't be surprised we're worried about you. We're your _friends_. We're not gonna judge you or think that you screwed up because you got hurt but that doesn't mean we're not gonna worry even though you seem to think getting laid up in the hospital and nearly _dying_ is no big deal."

Lana didn't - couldn't - say anything. She just followed MVP back in the short walk in total silence and sat back around the campfire again. Her gut thrummed again and she bit her tongue to keep from crying out softly in pain. Teresa warned her. The wound was healed but the scars would stick. The pain would go away eventually too, but until then she had to deal.

Eventually Anya had the bright idea to go for a swim so of course they all decided to join in. Lana tugged off her shirt and jumped into the cold water, "Fuck, it's colder than I thought!" She swung to the bank, hair clinging all over her face, and nearly fell over again when Aracely jumped in behind her without even taking off her flip-flops.

Across from them, Anya laughed and tugged away the tie keeping her ponytail up, "Well, at least we know you can swim!" She grinned at the younger girl. Not too far off she saw (a very shirtless) MVP breaking the surface while Sue, who elected to keep her shirt on, was trying to coax Gabe into the water. Jeez, he was the only guy she knew who'd take a hot blonde inviting him for a swim and think it wasn't a good idea.

"Christ, Sue, just pull him in!" Lana yelled.

Surprisingly enough, she actually did. Gabriel screamed, arms flailing, and fell headfirst into the water. He broke surface, the hood finally falling off, and now they were all in. Aracely suddenly came up from behind and hugged her back, forcing Lana to give her an impromptu piggyback ride, "Hey, leggo!" Aracely just laughed and hugged her tighter. Anya was no help, the fucking traitor.

They swam around for around half an hour before they decided it was enough. Sue got out first, shirt dripping wet and heavy, and grabbed two small bags. She waited till they were all out and drying themselves before she raised the bags with a bright grin, "Sparklers!" she said happily, "We can light them up together."

"Yeah and start a forest fire." Lana laughed.

"I brought a tarp too so it'll be safe. Trust me, I did this before." Probably with her family. Explained why she wanted to do it again, "Come on, please?"

"I'm game. It sounds like fun," Gabe said.

"Course you'd do what you girlfriend wants," Anya teased.

"We're not-"

"Let's save it for later," MVP said. He set down the (surprisingly large) tarp while Sue handed each of them a sparkler.

Lana knelt down and watched the bright sparks. It was completely dark now, the sun long gone with nothing more than the sparklers and a few lamps near their tents for light. Next to her Aracely waved her own sparklers, eyes wide and mouth parted while she giggled. Lana couldn't stop her own smile at that. Hard to believe she was that girl who was barely clinging to life in that storage container all those weeks ago.

Her attention went to everyone else in the group. Sue was helping Gabe with his sparkler while Anya decided to follow Aracely's lead and go double, deftly flipping the fireworks in her hands effortlessly. And finally there was MVP who was boring like her and made do with a single stick that he kept close to the tarp. She thought Captain America Jr. would've been the one to go full on 4th of July.

This was...nice. After William forced Lily to stop seeing her it was just her and her mom. Poey and his friends were there, but they didn't really care about her. Just another outcast in a group full of them. Even Kamala was gone, left for Jersey while Chat was so busy with work that she practically never saw her anymore. She couldn't even hang out with Gayle nowadays either.

"...I'm sorry," Lana mumbled. It was loud enough for all of them to hear. They all looked at her, faces locked in various degrees of worry that just made her feel worse, "I'm...really sorry for making you all worry."

"Lana, it's alright." Sue smiled comfortingly. It just made her feel worse.

"No, it's not." She sighed and looked back down at her sparkler again, "You guys are worried about me and I keep blowing you off. It's just..." God, she hated this shit, "A year ago the group I was with treated me like a kid. The fucking tagalong that was only there cause I knew Pete. And it's not just them. My mom, those Initiative drill instructors...everyone gives me a shit cause they think I'm too young to do anything right."

Even Pete did it. She understood it the same way she did when her mom got overprotective, but it still pissed her off. She'd proven herself again and again.

"So you think just other people got on your case we will too?" Anya exhaled deeply and scratched the top of her head, "I mean maybe you haven't noticed but not all of us here are exactly picture perfect either. Except for MVP."

"Hey!" said picture perfect guy protested.

"She's telling the truth." Gabe laughed under his breath, "We...aren't exactly the most orthodox group." Lana snorted. Yeah, understatement right there. Captain America Jr., a fast tracked former vigilante, an actual vigilante, a teenage hacker, an amnesiac psychic and America's Sweetheart. All they needed was the mascot and they could get a Webflicks series, "What Anya's saying is that yes we worry about you but that doesn't mean we're going to look down on you. You can trust us."

Trust. There was that word again.

"Thanks for this," she said eventually. The words came easier now, "I just...I'm still kind of getting used to the whole team up thing. I really only worked with Pete last year so it's still...hard to get used to the idea of someone being there to watch my back."

"We're friends, Lana. Gabriel and I can't help in a fight but we'll be here if you need a shoulder to lean on," Sue said with a smile.

"Yeah, I know." Great, now she felt guilty again. That smile should be a crime, "I promise I'll...try to be less of a lone wolf. It takes a while to get used to having an actual partner."

"What am I, chopped liver?" Anya asked in mock offense.

"Hey for that first month I thought Teresa sent you to spy on me! Gimme a break."

They all continued till the sparklers finally ran out. The others returned back to their tents, leaving just her and a strangely quiet Aracely. She hadn't said much since they got out of the water. She would've thought she'd say something while she was pouring her heart out, "Hey, you okay...?" She got a bad feeling whenever the other girl wasn't just blurting out whatever came to mind.

"I..." She shook her head, "Why are you so nice to me?"'

"This again?" Lana sighed and sat next to her.

"Yes." She nodded, "I tried not to read your mind, but it's hard. When you were talking earlier your mind was screaming, trying to get all of your emotions out." Aracely tucked her knees to her chest and turned her head to look at her, "You do not trust easily. You are used to being abandoned so you convince yourself it doesn't hurt if people hurt you. It's happened many times."

"Hm." Lana followed Aracely's lead and hugged her knees to her chest, "What about it?"

"Why would you trust me then?" Aracely asked. Lana didn't reply, "You trusted Spider-Man because he saved your life, but what about me? What makes me different from the dozens of innocents that you've saved?"

"Most of em weren't in crates and they weren't gonna get deported back to Mexico with nothing but the clothes on their back," she said bluntly. Most people had someone to turn back to - friends, family, doctors, _somebody_. Aracely didn't have anyone.

"Is that the only reason?"

"Why are you so pushy about this?" Lana asked back.

"I feel...odd. I have dreams sometimes. I'm in a field and there is this man I do not know. He talks in a language I can't understand. I try to talk to him and the words I'm saying don't make sense to me either. And then he turns into a coyote and rips open my throat." The way she said that last bit, so casual and carefree, made Lana wince, "And before I wake up I hear a woman's voice. She says that the Champion will be my guide and savior."

"...You sure you didn't just watch the wrong movie or something?"

"No. I only watch comedies." She paused, "When we left the hospital a woman tried to take me. I controlled her into almost killing herself. If I could do that then-"

"Alright, I'm gonna stop you right there." Lana put a hand up, "You're not mind controlling me to being nice to you, alright? I hung out with Moon Knight for almost a year, I know what someone brainwashed looks like. Actually, you know what? Go ahead. Order me to do something right now."

"But-"

"Just do it."

"Uh...pick your nose."

There was a moment of quiet until, with a surprised gasp, Lana's right hand slowly and shakily raised up towards her nostrils. Aracely's eyes widened in turn and she covered her mouth with both hands just in time for Lana to smirk and flick her in the forehead, "Tch, gotcha."

"Lana!" Aracely cried.

"See? Nothing. Now quit being so fucking weird!" She stood and pulled up Aracely after her, "We're friends, Aracely. Sure you're a weirdo who reads my mind but I've had worse. Till you start howling at the moon or start tattooing a bullseye on your forehead I think we're good."

"...Okay, Lana. Thank you."

Sleep came easy this time. No nightmares and even the throbbing in her gut had settled into a dull pain she could ignore. She knew the break couldn't last. Next week she'd have to deal with those two bitches high on mist, she had to work with Cin to investigate who tried to kidnap Aracely and, if her hunch was right, the Hand would go after her again. Whatever, she needed an excuse to blow something up anyway.

She was jolted out of bed by a scream. Wiping the sleep from her eyes, she scrambled out of the tent and felt her heart almost stop when she saw a tent that looked like it exploded from the inside.

That was Sue's tent.

The others were coming too but she was faster. She rushed to the tent's remains only to fall on her back when she smacked into what felt like a brick wall head-on, "Agh! What the fuck..." Ignoring the slight throbbing of her nose she stood back up and raised a hand in front of her. Her palm made contact with...something. Felt like solid wall but there was definitely nothing there.

"Lana, what's-"

Anya's question was cut off by another scream. The scattered remains of the tent were pulled back and Sue stumbled out shakily. She looked...wrong. Grotesque. Chunks of her body were just missing. The upper right half of her face was _gone_, replaced by nothing but thin air that she saw right through. The rest of her body was equally fucked. Arms with holes in them, her left leg gone just like her face but somehow she was still walking perfectly fine. She looked like a half formed body model.

And then their eyes met and Sue screamed again.

"Don't look at me!"

"The invisible wall pushed them all back. Lana tried to hold on but the pressure became too much and she fell on her back. The rest of her friends didn't fare much better. Aracely was knocked over a stump while Anya had to jump up to a tree to escape the expanding forcefield. Gabe was thrown into the lake while MVP stopped right at the edge of the docks, barely clinging to the edge.

"Sue!" Lana screamed, "Sue, listen to me!" She didn't hear her. Too panicked, Lana guessed. She tried again, "Sue, just...stop! You're hurting us!"

That was enough to get her attention. Sue looked up, tears in her remaining eye, and Lana felt the wall weaken. Clenching her fists, she punched through the shaky barrier and rushed to where her friend lay on the ground.

Lana hugged her. Sue struggled, punching at her chest weakly before it all became too much and she collapsed in her arms with a loud sob. She heard a faint pop behind her and knew the barrier was gone completely, "It's okay, Sue. I'm here." She rubbed a hand down her back in a circular motion - the same way her mom always behind. Behind her the rest of their friends slowly drew closer. Wet, bruised and dirty, but fine.

Sue pulled back and, with an eerie slowness, the patches and holes returned till she looked normal again.

Sue looked past her and flinched, "I'm...I'm so sor-"

"You don't have to apologize." Gabe knelt next to her and held her hand in a gentle grip, "What...What happened? What was..."

"Looks like Sue's got powers," Anya muttered, "Invisibility and some kind of barrier. Maybe psychokinesis?"

"How? Did something happen?" MVP asked.

Lana answered first, "That mist." They all looked at her, "Sue was visiting when those two witches did their thing. She must've breathed some in." Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck! She knew they should've been more careful!

"I'm not sure that's it." Gabe nodded at the destroyed test, "Look, there's no coccoon. It doesn't look like any kind of Terrigenesis I've ever seen."

"Well what else could it be?" Lana asked. He didn't reply, "Damn it. Guess I've got another reason to talk to those two bitches next week."

* * *

**berryxowo: **So people keep going on and on about how **Spider-Man **kills SO many people but, like, does he? Most times when I see him on the news it's cause of some criminals he strung up.

**reply from ****Eylstar: **Yeah. Like, most people he killed were ninjas and **Matt Murdock** himself said that they were pretty much zombies so do they even count?

**reply from ****Babey Bear: **If anything he doesn't really do _enough_. He says he's a socialist but we never see him sticking it to the big name CEO's like **Donald Roxxon** or **Danny Rand. **Where's the activism, Spidey?!

**reply from LordDynasty:** ...Holy shit this thread is fucked.

* * *

Felicia's apartment felt different than the one Mary Jane shared with Gwen and Peter. Larger and fancier but also less...homey, if that was the right word. It looked like something straight out of a catalog with no personal touches outside of the cats that hung around everywhere. Even the bathroom was perfectly organized with all the makeup and toiletries in a neat row and looking barely used.

It was artificial. Gwen's place was messy but also familiar and comfortable. The bookcase they stuffed with anything from pictures to game consoles (and _not_ books), the fridge that was stuffed with whatever food they felt like having that week and even their two closets that was just as filled with each other's clothes as it was their own. Neither of them really needed it considering their 'partners' but it helped keep them grounded. Human.

True to her word Felicia allowed her to move in. Mary Jane assured her it was temporary and she'd find a way to pay rent but the popstar just laughed and said not to feel bad. _After all, it's not like this was paid legitimately,_ she said. Mary Jane didn't judge. Cat burglar versus vigilante serial killer. Hard to throw stones in glass cities.

There was a guest room, but most of the time she shared Felicia's bed. It was nothing serious. Felicia needed to unwind like anybody else and it was more convenient than finding some guy or gal at a bar for a sloppy one night stand and awkward morning. Mary Jane couldn't complain either. As many issues as she had with the cat burglar her experience wasn't one of them.

That and she was pretty sure most people weren't comfortable getting gawked at by cats so it was a win-win all around.

Mary Jane didn't know what they were. Not lovers, that was abundantly clear. Friends? Maybe. Mary Jane still remembered the mic cord incident but that felt like a lifetime ago now. They'd both deny the label if asked. Felicia would call them rivals, but that wasn't right either. She was an established popstar and her band was still struggling to get gigs. Rivalries weren't so one-sided.

The darkly humorous part of her mind wondered if Felicia counted as her sugar mommy.

Mary Jane woke up from her afternoon nap with her phone buzzing. Crimson shifted into a shirt and a loose pair of pants while she blindly groped for the mobile on the nightstand. She was in Felicia's bed again with the owner nowhere in sight, "Mmmph." She shook off the last of her fatigue and tapped the screen, "Hello...?"

"Ms. Watson." Matt Murdock. Just perfect, "Did I catch you at a bad time?"'

"No. What's up?"

"You've kept the tracker of Mr. Bianchie, correct?"

"Yeah, and you told me to keep a lid on it." Something about how they needed to wait for a 'more opportune moment' to take advantage of it. Crimson agreed. All for the Greater Murder, it said. Little prick.

"Hmm, well I've heard some rumors on the grapevine that Mr. Bianchiis making a deal right now. You remember that little boy we saved during our first team-up?"

"Hard to forget..."

"Yes, well, it appears our target and his ilk dabble in Gifted trading." Mary Jane's grip on the phone tightened, "If my information is correct then we will meet both Mr. Bianchiand his buyer. It should prove fruitful."

"Fine. Just gimme some time to get ready. Where we meeting?" She knew better than to think he'd sit this one out. In the short time she'd known him it was clear Matt Murdock was a vindictive bastard. And there was nothing he loved more than finding people to drag down with him.

"Hm, close to the club would work. It's on the way. I look forward to see you, Ms. Watson."

He cut the call. Mary Jane looked down at the screen before stuffing the phone into her 'pocket',_ 'You ready, Crimson?' _

_**'Always.'**_

She'd halfway shifted into her costume when she ran into Felicia outside. She was relaxing on the couch with a glass of wine in her right hand. The clock said it was a quarter past six, "Just in time for happy hour." She smiled wryly, a gesture Felicia returned, "I'm heading out."

"I can see that." She set the glass down on the table, "Back on another crusade?"

"It's the favor for Cindy." She'd fully shifted into her costume now, mask and all. She should've left right there but of course she had to keep going, "I'm working with Daredevil."

The popstar's eyes narrowed by the smallest margin and she pursed her lips, "I see." She stared straight ahead at the window MJ always jumped out of. Thankfully it was high enough to avoid any paparazzi or drones, "You know my offer still stands."

"It's not like we're friends or anything." Again she could've just walked away. The window was right there within reach. Instead she sat at the arm of the couch, "You know why I have to do this."

"Your crusade for justice." Despite the mocking way she said it Mary Jane caught the hint of fondness in the words, "It's funny. Everything I knew about you the last thing I'd expect for you to be is a Superhero."

"That's cause I'm not." She shifted her right hand into a blade briefly and grinned, "And hey, I still wanna be famous. But I wanna do it as Mary Jane. Don't you feel the same, Black Cat?"

"Mmm, maybe. Nowadays it's hard to separate Felicia Hardy from Black Cat after that _diable _exposed my identity." She stood up languidly and walked past her back to the room, "Wait for me. I'll come with you."

"Uh...you sure that's a good idea?" Mary Jane called after her.

She didn't answer. It didn't take long before Felicia stepped out, fully dressed and geared up. It still annoyed her how well she wore that damn suit, "Well? Let's go."

"Your funeral."

She grabbed Felicia and jumped out the window. Felicia was competent enough on her own but at the height her apartment was her arm would snap clean off if she tried to swing straight from there even with that advanced suit of hers.

Mary Jane waited till they were at a decent enough height before she shot a web with her free hand. She let go of Felicia at her arc and the cat burglar immediately attached her whip to a nearby building ledge and used it to swing next to her. It always impressed. Felicia - hell, even Murdock - swung through the air like it was normal and they didn't have powers. One mistake and they'd be a smear in the pavement and they didn't care at all.

Murdock was where he said he'd be. He stuck out on the night roof in that blood red suit of his. Mary Jane landed with Felicia right behind her and the blind vigilante smiled wryly, "Well now, this is unexpected. A pleasure to see you again, Ms. Hardy. Finally come to finish the job?" There was something hopeful in those last words.

"Nothing so crude. After all, I did make a deal with your owner." Felicia smiled at that. A nasty, open toothed grin that looked seriously out of place on her, "I'm here for Scarlet Spider's sake."

"Don't trust me, do you?" He laughed, "A wise decision. Come then, let's follow her lead."

"Yeah...gimme the tracker, Crimson."

**_'Just make sure they bleed.'_**

The building wasn't too far off; maybe ten minutes if they swung over. Mary Jane followed Crimson's directions while Daredevil and Black Cat flanked her left and right side. She felt...odd. This was the first time she was really going out ever since that talk with Gwen and Peter - ever since she started accepting herself. It felt...well, not _good_, but she didn't feel weighed down by hating herself. It was progress.

"Says he's in there." She crouched at the edge of a low building and pointed at the sewer grate, "Sewers?"

"Not surprising. While unlikely to be found a building above ground is still much more vulnerable than the sewer lines. After all, no one checks in the filth," Murdock said. Mary Jane rolled her eyes. He was just waiting to say that, "It'll be cramped down there. Tight quarters. Will you be fine, Black Cat?"

"Do not worry about me, _diable_."

She pulled the manhole back and immediately recoiled at the stench. Sadly plugging her nose wasn't one of her powers. Breathing through her mouth, she looked back at her impromptu teammates. Felicia was just as repulsed while Murdock showed no signs that it bothered him whatsoever, "Hmm, that's disgusting. I feel sick," he said casually.

"Sure don't look like it."

Mary Jane dropped straight down and ignored the slap of something at her feet, "Ugh..." She shook off the sewer water clinging to her boot and waited for the others to follow her down. The stench was almost unbearable now. She tried not to think how messed up it was that blood didn't even register as odd when this still did.

"Where is this man?" Felicia groused.

"Not too far. Just follow my lead, okay?"

"On your go, Scarlet," Murdock said.

She'd played enough games to Gayle to know all about sewer levels and they sucked here as much as they did in fiction. Everywhere smelled like rotten eggs and she swore she stepped in something unmentionable at least half a dozen times. Why couldn't they go to use abandoned warehouses or apartment buildings like normal people? So inconvenient...

_'Can you do something about this?'_

**_'No, that's not one of my abilities. I could cover your nose but that'll make it difficult to breath. Just deal with it.'_**

_'Perfect..."_

"Just who is it that we're after?" Felicia suddenly asked.

"You came without knowing?" Murdock asked. Felicia ignored him, "A man who trades in flesh styling himself as a businessman. Sadly there are far too many of his kind in this city."

"You speak from experience, I presume?" she shot back nastily.

"Undoubtedly. I've likely condemned hundreds of children alone to be some deviant's plaything." Mary Jane's mouth twitched. It wasn't a surprise. He was the Kingpin for almost a decade and an empire like that didn't come cheap. And yet, it was oddly relieving to have him here - to know that despite everything she did there was someone next to her infinitely worse.

Felicia's lips curled in distaste and she looked away without another word. Mary Jane ignored the awkward silence that hung in the air and stopped when they reached a brick wall, "...They're on the other side." She let Crimson seep through the cracks. Bianchiwasn't the one on the other end but he was in the room.

Which meant she could do this.

Mary Jane punched through the wall, grabbed the goon's head on the other end and snapped his neck in one fluid motion. The rest of the guards all looked at her, mouth agape in shock before she tossed the body at the closest pair of guards.

That was when all hell broke loose. They focused fire on her just like she intended. Mary Jane ignored the hail of bullets and grabbed the next gunman, slamming him against the wall facefirst before tossing him to the table filled with money at the center of the makeshift room. He was still alive, if only breathing through a straw for the next couple of months. She wasn't going to kill everyone.

**_'Killjoy.'_**

_'Cindy wants people to interrogate.'_

**_'Does that mean we can kill everyone next time?'_**

_'No.'_

Daredevil and Black Cat used her distraction to take out the rest of the goon squad. Despite the situation she was in she couldn't help but notice how differently they fought. Felicia was graceful, all flips and high kicks with a whip she used like it was another limb. Murdock was more brutal. Professional, but with a sadistic streak. He aimed for limbs and necks with those sticks of his and every hit was met with a sickening crack. She was surprised he wasn't laughing while he beat them.

Mary Jane wondered how she looked to them.

The thrum of the tracker told her Bianchi was running. Coward didn't even stay for the fight.

"Black Cat, stay here and help the hostages! Daredevil and I'll go after our guy!" She didn't wait for her to say an affirmative before she was out the door, weaving through the tunnels with Daredevil next to her. Bianchi's white suit stuck out in the sewers, "Heh...too easy." She rounded the corner and shot a line of blood red webbing straight at him. The sharpened tip stabbed him at his right achilles tendon and she pulled.

He fell facefirst into a pile of sewer water. Daredevil kicked him to his back and pressed the tip of the escrima stick to his throat, "Where are the rest of the people you took?" He snarled. Mary Jane stopped behind him. His sudden shift was a surprise. No deranged smiles and cocky smirks, just an all-too familiar anger, "I won't ask again. Talk before I crush your throat."

"T-They're with my boss!" he choked out. Daredevil lightened the pressure just a bit, "H-His name's Giovanni Bianchi! He's buyin' from some fancy punk callin' himself Scorpion-"

And then his face cut open in a torrent of blood. Daredevil barely managed to pull his head back to avoid the bloody claws seemingly attached to nothing that almost cut open his neck, "Heh, almost didn't hear you." Mary Jane looked around frantically as the blood disappeared from the claws and left nothing but thin air, "Be careful, Scarlet. It seems our new friend here can turn invisible."

"What the hell?!"

"I doubt he's a demon. Get ready. On your right."

Mary Jane raised her arm to block the next swipe aimed at her face. The guy wasn't strong enough to break through her guard but whatever was in those claws was enough to cut through the layer of symbiote over her skin. Mary Jane kicked him away and stepped back with a hiss. It'd been a while since she bled.

"An assassin come to slit our throats. How quaint." Daredevil did that demented smile again.

The next attack came from behind them. Daredevil blocked the double swing and Mary Jane acted quickly, shooting two lines of webbing where his torso must have been. The barbed tips made contact and she heard a distorted voice scream in pain before the figure flickered into visibility. A full body suit, a tattered cloak and a mask permanently set in a scowl. He looked like something out of a horror movie, or that Ghost creeper Peter took out back at the hospital.

He cut through the webbing and disappeared again. Mary Jane lowered herself into a fighting stance but nothing came, "Where-"

"It appears he's made his escape." Daredevil hummed, "I can only guess he didn't expect someone of your capabilities here tonight. He was expecting police or the low powered vigilante."

"Who was that?"

"My guess? I've heard of an individual calling himself the Prowler. An assassin for hire who'll take any target. I believe Ms. Moon fought with him before." He cracked his neck, "I suppose he was put here as insurance. No doubt Mr. Bianchi would've told us more details such as his exact buyer before he was silenced. A shame."

She was about to saw something back when she noticed the gash through his chestplate and the unmistakable scent of blood underneath, "You're bleeding."

"Oh? So I am." He hummed again, "Oh well, nothing some stitches won't fix. Come, let's return to Black Cat before she loses her patience."

Felicia freed the victims by the time they got back. She counted at least half a dozen kids, each of them with some obvious mutation - blue skin, wide, glassy eyes, even a tongue that was just a foot too long. Odd, but nothing to get excited about. What the hell would someone want with kids like these?

Mary Jane knelt in front of them and pulled her mask off. The face was different - she wasn't a brunette, for one - but seeing a face under the mask calmed them down immensely, "Black Cat, could you-"

"I'll stay and hand them over to the police. I am a special consultant, after all," she said, "What will you do?"

"I'm going with Murdock. We need to figure out where we're going next." Felicia frowned. Mary Jane sighed, "Just trust me, okay? I'll be back soon."

"Don't keep me waiting."

Murdock's apartment - if you could even call it that - was even bigger than Felicia's. Mary Jane paused at the window and stared the cameras on the walls, "Don't worry, those are for show." Murdock pulled off his mask and set it on the table, "Do you really think I could go out on my nightly excursions if they were really tracking me? They play on a loop and don't even have sound. The only one who's aware of our activities is Karen, and that'll be the case for a long, long time."

"Right..." She stepped inside and took off her mask. If he was lying she'd kill him.

**_'The wound is more serious than he treats it. If you wish to keep him alive you may want to help him.'_**

_'Seriously, who are you and what did you do to Crimson?'_

**_'He is our meal ticket. It would be a waste to let him die just yet.'_**

"Right..." She sighed, "Hey, take that stupid outfit off."

Murdock raised a brow, "Ms. Watson, I'm flattered but-"

"Don't be smartass. We gotta make sure you don't bleed out so take it off." She sat on the seat across from him and watched as he unbuckled the armor pieces and let them fall to the floor with a dull thud. He was definitely fit, and if it were anyone else she probably would've appreciated the view, but everything combined with the blood and sewer gunk made it one of the unsexiest things she'd seen all week.

"Well?"

"That's a pretty deep cut." She frowned. The gash came all the way from his left shoulder down to his chest. Be lucky if it wasn't infected too considering the literal crap they were swimming in, "Thought you had that chi thing?"

"We have our limits. I've been pushing mine these past few days and have burnt out, to use the proper term." He clicked tongue, "Of course it's nothing some needle and thread won't fix."

"You plan to stitch yourself up?"

"Wouldn't be the first time."

"How about no?" Ugh, why her? "Please tell me you at least have some disinfectant spray."

Five minutes later and the wound was as clean as could be. Now for the next part. Mary Jane put a hand on his shoulder and focused. Crimson was used for killing, but it had its other uses. A clump of red flesh jumped from her palm and seeped into the cut, crossing the two halves of torn flesh together in a makeshift suturing. Wasn't the neatest, but it'd get the job done and it was less of a hassle than stitching him up.

"A handy trick."

"Crimson doesn't like to use it a lot. You can imagine why." She pulled back and rubbed her eyes tiredly. She hadn't been awake for long and she was already exhausted again, "So, we should go down the next part of the list."

"I agree, but perhaps you might take a shower first? I didn't wish to be rude before but you smell rather repulsive."

"Look who's talking." She scoffed, "Fine, I gotta wash this crap off of me anyway." With a final, exhausted sigh she slunk into the bathroom and let herself relax under the hot shower. She got the feeling it was gonna be a long night.

* * *

**Lana's funtime got ruined and Mary Jane is now experiencing her own life in a love triangle. So what do you guys think: the sexy popstar thief Black Cat or the dangerous yet oddly alluring Daredevil? Or we can go for the third option and have her date Frog-Man.**

**Question: **

**1\. Since people seemed to want more lighthearted stuff do you guys want the next chapter to be more fluffy romance stuff (either for Cindy or Peter/Gwen) or do we keep going with plot?**

**2\. Is MJ still sympathetic now that she's embraced being a serial killer vigilante? She doesn't kill as much as she does before but most of her guilt when she does kill is notably absent now. **

**Review Answers:**

**Brave2000 - Collossus? Uh, not sure. As for Deadpool, he never actually showed up before.**

**KasugaRomio - Coming to an end? Doubt it. I haven't even dealt with one antagonist, let alone five.**

**Dr. Sugarcakes - Don't you mean soft cupcake?**

**Hardlight - Really? Commoners always seems to win in these stories.**

**Ranchod das chanchad - Does that mean you liked the Original Noir over the fake one? **

**As for Gwen being a Mary Sue...half in half? It seems to mostly apply power wise since she's the strongest of the protagonists. Outside of that her luck can be supremely shitty like her morals being taunted and disregarded by everyone, being forced to kill, her dad getting crippled, having her best friend die in her arms AGAIN. She's just as miserable as the rest of the cast despite, or even because of, her powers.**

**Also, no power ups for Gwen. Too strong already and she'd never give up her relationship with Peter.**

**MJ at this point has basically accepted that she's a serial killer, so I dunno if she's still sympathetic. Cindy also went from being juvenile to hyper mature and now she's basically a mom. Pretty big jump.**

**And yeah, Lana and Noir's relationship was one of my favorites in Looking Glass :) Hopefully you write future long reviews. They always brighten up my day and make it feel worth it to write. **


	44. Bad Romance

**Sorry for the wait. Felt a bit lazy and I'm currently finding it difficult to write. Hopefully this chapter is still enjoyable, especially since I took note of some comments from previous reviews on what to do next.**

**I also checked the votes and, as of current writing, the votes are 25 for Devil's Breath and 18 for Spider-Island. I'll admit I'm surprised. I expected Spider-Island to be the majority vote given previous reviews but right now it seems like DB's the surefire win. Is it cause it's the plot of the PS4 game?**

**Anyway, we'll deal with that later. Time for the chapter. **

* * *

**Wavemaniwave:** Anyone else see the new Director's Cut edition of the **Spider-Woman movie**?

**Reply from Happy Industries: **Holy shit yes! Those added scenes gave so much more context to the previous story! And that post credits scene mmph!

**Reply from Snapperbob: **I dunno I actually don't like it. I think introducing **Spider-Man** so soon is a bad idea, especially since it seems like the romance with **Hawkeye **they were setting up is just gonna be tossed away now that he's here.

**Reply from Hilversumborn: **Agreed. The chemistry between Spider-Woman and Hawkeye was insane in the movie and now it's just gonna turn into this love triangle in the next movie.

**Reply from Happy Industries: **Whatever else you think it was a hell of an entrance. I mean the entire movie was all about this usual Superhero stuff with funny heroes and this big epic duel at the end. But then you get the post credits with those dead goons in the hospital then that mob boss begging before Spider-Man shoots him in the face.

**Reply from Wavemaniwave: **I really like how after that Spider-Man set the human trafficking victims free. Really feels like they get that he's not just a guy who runs around killing criminals - he actually helps people.

**Reply from MrCynical 64 - **I just hope he doesn't make the next movie too dark. One thing I loved about the movie is that it's not afraid to have fun so having this guy with a gun and trenchcoat could really fuck up the tone.

* * *

For the first time in years, Donald Roxxon felt truly content.

The handsome man looked over the edge of the balcony towards the night of the city below. His right hand held a glass of cognac - the Henri IV. It cost a pretty penny - something to the tune of 2 million dollars - but he was never one for skimping.

Besides, tonight was a special occasion.

He smiled and took a graceful sip of the brandy. He had just finished another dinner with the lovely Spider-Woman and she'd practically thrown herself at him after. She played coy, of course, played hard to get, tried to make it a challenge for him, but he saw the look of want in her eyes. A far cry from the dismissive condescension she once gave him a year prior.

He didn't blame her for that, of course. Now that he'd tasted power - _real_ power - he completely understood. Of course she would dismiss someone beneath her. Had he been in her place he would've done the same. To think, just a year prior he was willing to lower himself to sleep with someone who was nothing more than a pretty face. No amount of looks or 'charisma' could compare to the achievements of the Gifted.

Donald made a note to thank Kingsley later. As much as he personally disliked the man he was the one who pushed him to revive his father's old experiments. And _oh_, how they bore fruit. So many people came to power without earning it. All those gifts and they could think of nothing but living their lives day to day. He was different. If they weren't going to use their gifts it was fair they gave it to someone who did.

Another sip of cognac before he finally heard the telltale sound of Spider-Woman's swing. He smiled again as she landed next to him on the stone railing by the tips of her feet. More than anything that was what drew him to her. Everything she did from the way she moved to the grace with which she dealt with criminals exuded power. She was Spider-Woman, she was special in a way no one else could be.

And soon she would be his.

"Someone's up late," she said casually. She flipped - again, another show of power above the mundane - and stood next to him, copying his lean. Her costume peeled back to expose the dress she wore from their dinner. Even her face was different. A darker shade of blonde than her usual with a face that spoke of experience despite her at times juvenile demeanor. Her green eyes bore into him with a hint of fondness.

Her true face. It was an accident that he'd seen it. One of those criminals got lucky and managed to pull her mask back during one of their previous patrols and he saw her in full before she pulled the mask back. He'd assured her that he could trust her and, after some reluctance, she ultimately agreed. After all, if that thug Spider-Man knew who she was then of course she could trust him as well.

She'd even told him her name: Claire Robinson. It was an...odd idea, to put a name to the figure beside him. To him she would always be Spider-Woman.

"You promised you would come. It would've been rude of me to break my promise to a lady." He picked up the extra glass that sat on the railing it and offered it to her. She accepted the glass gratefully and took a graceful sip of her own, "You told me you wished to converse. What is it that you need?"

"The bounty on Spider-Man. That is to say, _your_ bounty on Spider-Man." His eyes widened and, before he could say anything, she continued, "Don't bother denying it. I've done my research."

"Hmm..." He swirled the cognac. True he was surprised but her tone wasn't that of condemnation, "What of it?"

"I want you to cancel it." He raised a brow, "Not for the reason you think." She set the glass down and looked ahead, her expression unreadable, "...Last time when we talked I never asked. What do you see when you look at the city, Donald?"

"I see...a city. What else could it be?" he asked back neutrally.

"A nesting ground full of idiots and sheep." The resentment in her tone was a surprise, though not an unpleasant one, "I told you before that continued to be a hero because I wanted to prove I was better than them, but that's not the only reason. Have you ever felt so jealous of someone that you would do anything to be them? To have what they have, no matter the cost?"

"I can't say I have."

"They do. Every single time they look at me I can see it in their eyes - they want to be me. They resent me for having gifts while they have to live their normal, everyday lives just waiting for that cookie at the end of the day. But that's only if I keep up the hero act. Keep them safe."

"How does this relate to the bounty?"

"You want Spider-Man dead? I get it. I mean I'd prefer if he was in jail but I've had to make that compromise before. Remember the Carnage killer?" Indeed he did. One man gained so much power and all he could think off was to use it for needless killing. A moronic waste, "But your bounty hunters, if you can even call him that, are sloppy. You know how bad it looks for me when one of 'my' villains takes an entire studio hostage and Spider-Man has to be the one to save the day?"

"You speak from such a spiteful position but you wish to keep them protected. Why?"

"Like I said: to prove I'm better than them." She laughed under her breath, "Sure, I don't feel bad when these idiots get got - always more civilians where they came from - but once they're dead that's it. Done. Why do you think I never went after Jameson? The city already hated me so I could've snapped his neck or put him in a coma, no fuss. Not like I could make my rep any worse."

"Why didn't you, then?" This was...intriguing. The bitterness, the sheer honesty of her hate, felt like something only _he_ deserved to see. No one else.

"Because then it'd be over." She grinned, "I knew it'd take a while - two years - but eventually I'd get him back. And I did. Look at me now. I'm part of the Avengers and he's just a disgraced blowhard who spends his days ranting at a radio, trying to get some of that clout he had before. And you know what? It feels great. Better than any kind of beating I could've given him."

"I can understand that feeling." He hummed, "Prior to my stint at heroics my line of work encouraged a competitive streak. At times it felt like the people around me did what they did not for the promotion but rather to simply win in any way they could." Some of them did resort to outright assassination, but for many the satisfaction of having gotten one over their competition was enough; and, in many ways, far more satisfying.

"So that's why I want the bounty gone. You want Spider-Man out? We can deal with it ourselves without a bunch of amateurs in costumes screwing everything up."

"We?" He raised a brow. Another intriguing choice of words.

"Yeah." She took another quick drink of her brandy, "When I broke up with that piece of shit I thought it was over. But then Cap tells me I need to keep an eye on him. He's useful, she says." She clicked her tongue and sneered, "And yeah, I can see that, but that doesn't mean I have to _like_ it. That guy gets so damn snippy cause he knows that I gotta follow what Cap says or else."

"Even still wouldn't a better mercenary suffice?"

"And what would that do? He goes down as a hero who fought bravely against a supervillain for hire and I get shit on cause I broke up with him. People always pretend an asshole did nothing bad once he's dead, like somehow _that's_ crossing the line."

"I can sympathize. My father was...not a pleasant man, but after his passing the employees under his charge would step over each other to pay him compliments." For most it was a PR move, but others genuinely seemed to believe that one's passing exonerated their sins. Pathetic.

"Yeah, but what if it was a hero instead?" There was a mischievous twinkle in her eye, "I still got that asshole's number and Cap said we'd keep him out only if he didn't...'act out'." She scoffed, "Long as he's beating up criminals no one really looks twice, but if he attacks an actual hero? Well, that's different. Cap won't say anything if I'm just coming to a fellow hero's defense."

"Why not do this before on your own?"

"Cause Cap knows that I hate him. She'll be suspicious if I just beat him up and say he attacked me. But you? She has no reason not to trust you. If you say he attacked you there's no way she'd think there was foul play. He goes to jail like a criminal and I don't have to worry another nutjob with his face plastered all over his car's gonna hold another building hostage to draw him out."

"I see. I'll admit, your plan is...intriguing, and indeed cancelling the bounty would be simple." All it'd take was a simple phone call for that money to be transferred out and the price rescinded, "But are you certain of this?"

"Yeah. Honestly, I think it'll do me some good, him ending up in prison. Like putting a bad memory to rest, ya know?"

"I understand."

It wasn't long afterwards that they ended up in bed together. It was...sublime. Her power her, her grace, all of it belonged to him. She moved with the elegance of a dancer in everything she did and it was enough for him to forget every other partner that shared his bed. To think he ever thought someone as mundane as Cecilia Carmichael was worthy of being with him.

She was still asleep when he picked up his phone and cancelled the bounty. Spider-Woman was right. Crude mercenaries could finish the job eventually but all it would do was ensure he was remembered as a hero by those sheep. With her plan he would be treated as the criminal he deserved while those worthy of actual power earned the envious glances of the jealous public.

He'd just finished his phone call when she wrapped her arms around him, hands trailing down from his to his abdomen, "Hey there," she whispered against his ear, "Didn't think you'd be up yet."

"Duty calls." The hands of the clock stopped at '6:30'. Earlier than he would've liked, but it was a small price to pay for the benefits he received in exchange, "Apologies, but I must cut this short. I must 'recharge', so to speak." Perhaps one day he could tell her exactly where he received his powers from. It was clear by her own words that, despite the mask she put on for the public's benefit, her opinion of the sheep was no better than his.

"Good idea. Hmm..." She sat up, the blanket sliding from her chest to rest at her waist, "Since you're recharging how about we do the plan today? I can call Spider-Man over to somewhere nice and abandoned and we can deal with him."

"How will this go?"

"Easy enough. I'll text you the address and you meet him there. Try to get him to attack you first, but if he doesn't take the bait...well, there's a reason why the place is abandoned. I'll come in, 'see' him attacking you and then we both take him down. He'll be in Ryker's before lunch. Speaking of, I know a really good place we can go to so we can celebrate. My treat this time."

"Far be it for me to make the lady pay for me." He held her right hand and kissed her knuckle. Oh, how she smiled at that, "You have done enough for this city. Paying for our meals is the least I could do."

"Charmer." She giggled, "Alright, come on. Go do what you gotta do. I'll set things up."

"Till then, Spider-Woman."

He dressed and left soon after, completely missing the look of sheer disgust that passed her features now that she was alone, _'Fucking asshole.' _Her ugly scowl was out in full now as she stood and shifted back to her costume. She'd buy Webster an entire chocolate factory for what she did last night - separating and shifting to look like her while they did the nasty.

The only downside was that Gwen had to wait in the bathroom while Roxxon sexed up her doppleganger, but it was definitely better than the alternative. As soon as the smug prick went to sleep Webster rejoined her (not before making sure to expunge herself, of course) and Gwen crawled into his bed. Sleeping naked next to him and playing the part of the blushing girlfriend still made her gag, though.

Least it was gonna be over soon.

_'You got it, Webs?'_

**'Yes. The tracker's been placed.' **She internally jumped for joy at that. Getting the bounty rescinded was risky enough; it would've been even harder to time it just right for when he went back to check on his victims. Cindy was the one who came up with the plan to kill two birds with one stone. Get Roxxon to go after Peter and he'd probably decide he needed a boost, cause despite everything he was just a bully who ran to daddy's money to get what he wanted.

And as much as she wasn't a fan of putting Peter in danger - especially considering his current state - she had to agree. Peter did too when they suggested the plan to him. At least she was...relatively sure Roxxon wouldn't go for the killshot now that she planted the idea in his head to put Peter in jail 'where he belonged'.

_'Good girl. You're getting a shop full of Reese's bars for that.'_

**'I aim to please. Remember, I prefer the one with the dark chocolate.'**

Elsewhere in the city, Donald leaned back in the seat of his limousine and let his mind wander in content. Spider-Woman was his. Even now a part of him couldn't believe it, but a greater part knew it was inevitable. Of course she'd be drawn to him. Spider-Man must've appealed in the primal part of her that craved something dangerous and forbidden but eventually the attraction would have faded. Of course she would've been drawn to him eventually.

The facility was out of the ways - easily outside of New York, at least. It was a bother to return to it every day but that was another price he was willing to pay. The hour long drive continued till eventually he was met with the all too familiar sight of the dull gray buildings, "You may return. I will find my own way back." He stepped out of the car and adjusted his tie.

The scientists came to meet him as soon as he stepped off the elevator. Progress reports, updates on the new test subjects they caught; the usual drivel. He only half listened to them and did his usual routine of attempted augmentation. As far as he cared the day to day of the operation didn't matter. All he cared for were results, if the 'Gifted' they took could be used to his own abilities. It took dozens of attempts to get even rudimentary powers and he had no plans on stopping.

He stopped over the observation deck and looked down at the latest trial. Six more test subjects - 1 adult female, three adult males and two girls who appeared maybe 10 or 11, "We're testing a new variant of the Terrigenesis Mist," the scientist to his right blathered on, "Preliminary testing indicates that it will increase the strength of their abilities albeit with some...side effects."

"Meaning?"

"Forcing the transformation will have physical and mental strain. Worry not, sir, we'll make sure to iron that out by the time you can find use of it."

Donald grunted and watched the experiment unfold. It was all the same. Panic, banging at the walls and windows to try and futilely escape. One would think they would catch on eventually. He watched impassively as their bodies twisted and transformed, their voices coming out in hoarse screams, "Cut the audio feed," he said. He personally found the sound distasteful and bothersome.

"As you say, sir," the scientist did just that, "Now, I believe the next experiment should prove fruitful. We shall be testing the pain tolerance of Subject Sigma..."

He followed the sniveling scientist and didn't notice the strip of black biomass that jumped from his back and hid in one of the nearby cracks in the wall.

* * *

Mary Jane stepped out of the hot shower with a small sigh. Ever since she and Crimson got bolted together she tried to take pleasure in the little things. Cold drinks, well-cooked food, hot showers...anything that could take her mind off of the absolute hellfest her life was. Even now, after she'd finally reached a true compromise with herself, the little things still helped her relax.

The fact that she was in the former Kingpin's apartment/penthouse/jail cell kinda cut into that, though.

She let out another breath and grabbed the blood red (of course) bathrobe hanging on the wall. A part of her felt odd traipsing around Matt Murdock's place with just that on, but she reminded herself it didn't matter. The guy was blind and he used freaky bat powers to see. She could've been dressed in six layers of clothes and it wouldn't have made a difference on what she looked like to him.

She wiped off the mist in the mirror and looked at her reflection. She looked different now. More relaxed,_** 'Of course you would be.'** _Crimson jutted out of her shoulder with that damn grin on its face, **_"You've finally stopped lying to yourself. The truth will set you free."_**

"And yet you're still a giant pain in the ass." She smiled wryly.

**_"It doesn't stop us from working together better. Maybe in time you'll get used to following my lead instead." _**

"In your dreams, you little shit. I'm the driver here, and don't you forget it."

_**"You say that now but I'm sure you'll change your tune eventually. It's okay, I'll wait. We have decades to go."**_

She ignored the implications of her possible immortality and traipsed back out to the apartment proper. The place was huge, bigger than even Felicia's place and felt even emptier. Even the little touches of personalization Felicia had were missing, replaced instead by furniture and decorations that looked so artificial she would've assumed a robot picked them.

The man himself stood at the only corner that even looked slightly lived in. Murdock leaned across a small table and traced his fingers over the surface a long sheet of paper. From what he told her he really was blind, at least enough that computer screens were a no-go, so he had to do with paper and ink. Apparently he was good enough to read everything like braille. She didn't really get it, but she wasn't going to complain.

"Got something?" she asked, bare feet padding softly as she walked towards him. The apartment was _quiet_. No music, no creaks, nothing. Felt kinda creep, really. He didn't make any indication he heard her aside from a slight nudge of the head, "...Hey, I'm talking to you."

"Hm? Oh, apologies, I was filing away the information for future use." He set the paper aside and looked up at her proper. He looked...different without all the armor on him. Vulnerable. His eyes, usually hidden by shades or his mask, showed a fatigue she wasn't expecting and he still didn't put on a shirt, exposing his bandaged chest to the open air, "Hm...it appears you're doing better, at least." He tilted his head to the side slightly and she saw the tattoo branded on his neck.

"...Nice ink."

"Isn't it? It wasn't exactly my choice but I've been told it contrasts well with my usual attire." Yeah, all fancy suits and expensive shades. Looked like a 1 percent Hipster, "But you didn't come here to talk about 'my ink', you want to see the next branch of this poisonous tree."

_**'God, yes! It's been so long!'**_

_'We literally just went out an hour ago!'_

**_'And that was time we could've spent doing something productive.'_**

"...Sure, who's our next hit?" She really needed to stop arguing with it.

"This man." He slid over a photo to the other side of the table and she looked down. The guy in the picture was older, probably 50's to 60's considering the white hair and goatee, with tan, wrinkly skin and a suit that looked like it was straight out of the 70's, "Vincent Ambrose, a relic from the Maggia that so far has refused to die off. He's a cockroach who knows exactly who to kill, who to bribe and who to avoid."

"What's he into?"

He slid her another picture and she couldn't stop herself from growling when she saw the blurry image of kids in dresses surrounding an older man, "One of the more prolific child prostitution rings in New York. From what I could gather his clients are of the more...expensive variety." Another picture, this one of a man in a suit, "Of course, pictures like these hardly matter when they know the right people to bribe and to make witnesses...disappear.'

**_'I can feel how angry you are. This Matthew spoils us so.'_**

"Where is he?" somehow she managed to sound calm and not at all like she was about to have a psychotic break.

"That's the trickier part. Ambrose didn't survive this long by being a very public figure. He has a paranoia that would put Peter to shame." He laughed at that. She almost did, "Karen is rather insistent on her hands off approach so we will have to do this on our own. We'll start with him." Another picture. This time the picture was of a younger man in a cop uniform, "Nathaniel Stevens. One of the Maggia's turned officers."

"Hm..." Despite everything she did she hadn't actually gone after any police officers. Sure, crime was crime, but Tiger warned her that the cops get antsy when one of their own got caught up in the vigilante sprees. Made them all feel like targets, "...Don't think it's a good idea to kill him." At least not without making sure there were no tracks that led back to them. A cut to the throat and stealing his wallet would make it look like a robbery gone wrong, at least.

"Agreed. This one we can leave to his brothers in arms." He waved a small folder with a smile, "I did my own research alongside some assistance from Ms. Winters. We'll get our information from him then oh so casually drop these in Ms. Moon's desk. She'll ensure the right people get it and I imagine that he'll spend the rest of his life in prison. Assuming the Maggia doesn't hire someone to silence him, of course."

"Or the rest of the prisoners don't get him. Last I checked cops weren't popular behind bars."

"Yes. I heard they're even less popular than lawyers in that regard." She actually did crack a small smile at that, if only because the thought of Murdock in prison was oddly cathartic after all the shit he did to her best friends, "Oh, is that a smile I see?"

"How would you know? I thought you were blind?"

"I'm well-versed in catching the changes in muscles. I can't 'see' your smile but I can make an educated guess." He hummed, "Now, I think I should get back to work. As deplorable as Ambrose is he's only the tip of the iceberg."

"Anything I can do?"

"You're welcome to help, of course, but I have my doubts on how much you're able to glean. No offense."

"Offense taken."

As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. Contrary to what movies taught her you couldn't just turn to the middle of the book. Most of the data was filled with so much useless bullshit and jargon that she gave up a couple of hours in. She almost left then and there before, out of nowhere, Murdock said she was free to crash on the couch and she decided swinging back to Felicia's to get grilled wasn't exactly on her top 10 list right now.

She laid down on the (velvet) sofa and sighed, lazily reaching for the wine on a nearby table and pouring it on the fancy glass. She didn't know whether to laugh or cringe at how she looked like now. Here she was, slouching on a penthouse loveseat in nothing more than a bathrobe and drinking wine like she was the mistress in some kind of lifetime movie. Just a year ago she would've given anything to get into digs like this, though she would've preferred buying it on her own with the riches from her latest platinum disc.

Mary Jane looked up from the wine to penthouse's only other occupant. He was still poring over the files, his face knotted in concentration with none of the usual smugness he radiated. For a second she almost forgot he was the former Kingpin turned vigilante.

"...Surprised you can read through all that." Her voice was soft but she knew he'd hear it.

"I did go through Law school, Ms. Watson." Ms. Watson. Ugh, made her feel old all of a sudden, "I graduated Summa cum laude from my university as well, so busywork such as this is par for the course for me."

"Please. You probably got your demon buddy to do that for you." She snorted.

"My 'demon buddy' was hardly interested in the finer intricacies of law. He cared more about breaking it." His mouth quirked up in a slight smile. Surprisingly, it didn't look at all smug or cocky like she expected, "I expect that at least one teacher felt inordinately proud of the blind man leaving with honors. People are always so quick to try and leech from others. Of course, those same instructors are likely now calling for my disbarment. Such is life."

"How the hell _are_ you still practicing law?" She'd thought being possessed by a demon would cut his license off.

"As far as the world is concerned I was wholly a helpless victim to the Beast's machinations." He sighed slightly, "It isn't my preferred outcome - especially given that this sets a precedent for opportunists to blame their future crimes on some malevolent entity - but the choice was out of my hands. Right now Karen has me doing pro-bono cases. A so-called redemption story for the Kingpin's former lawyer."

"All this while you're doing the vigilante gig on the side."

"We all have our hobbies." He set the paper down and cracked his neck with a soft breath.

"Hm..." She took another sip of the wine before setting the glass on the table, "...What was with you earlier?"

"You'll have to be more specific, Ms. Watson-"

"It's Mary Jane." She breathed out in frustration, "Call me Mary Jane. Ms. Watson just sounds weird coming out of your mouth." Mary Jane was simple enough. MJ was for friends and Watson just reminded her of her useless sperm donor for a 'father'.

"Very well then, Mary Jane. Now, what exactly did you mean?"

"Your little personality shift back there." She leaned back on the seat and crossed her right leg over the left, "When you were asking that Bianchi guy where the rest of the people were. You got...growly." She pointedly ignored how much it reminded her of Peter.

"Oh, that? It's something that happens sometimes." He shrugged without a care, "You know how it is. I was an angry young man and the Beast's possession suppressed those traits. While my personality has been shifted permanently despite my newfound freedom sometimes the aggrieved child comes to the forefront. It doesn't usually last long."

"So...you're a schizo?"

His next laugh was loud, echoing all throughout the penthouse, "That's...one way to put it, I suppose." He set the papers to the side, "Truth be told I have no idea how I would describe my mental state. One doesn't simply live with a demon in your head for a decade without a few mental scars. I imagine you understand that feeling, don't you?"

"You have no idea..."

**_'Hey, that's totally different!'_**

_'How so?'_

**_'I only knew you for a year, not ten!'_**

_'...Nice. Stay classy, Crimson.' _

Mary Jane put her phone on the table then laid down on the couch and closed her eyes. Crashing over at the Kingpin's penthouse wasn't something she normally did but she was tired and it wasn't like she was in any danger. If the guy tried anything she'd pay him back. Hard. She just hoped Gwen didn't find out about this. As much she loved her she could get overbearing when she thought her friends were in danger.

She was woken up by the chirp of her ringtone, "Mmm..." She fell onto her side and grabbed clumsily for the phone sitting next to a thermal cup. According to the time it was 30 minutes past 8 in the morning, "Huh...?" A message from the Kingsley agency. Another shoot they wanted her for, "...Hey, Crimson, where's Murdock?"

**_'He left earlier. I don't know where he went. He did leave that thing for you.' _**

She opened up the cup and breathed a sigh of relief at the smell of caffeine, "Should probably thank him next time..." She finished it in one gulp and shifted back to her costume. The building wasn't too far away, maybe ten minutes if she swung all the way.

Almost 5 hours later and the shoot was finally done. Mary Jane sat in the designated break spot and drank the offered soda greedily. She had to admit there was something about the whole modeling thing even if she wasn't a fan of the prima donna models and the even worse camera men. It definitely beat getting yelled at by soccer moms and kids trying to sneak into r-18 films.

She set the glass down and looked at one of the few other redheads in the room. Mary sat in her own little corner reading a magazine, completely ignoring the shuffles of everyone around her. After all their last meeting at Central Park she'd followed Mary Jane's warning and hadn't talked to her since. Mary Jane told herself it was for the best but now she wondered if she wasn't just running away.

...No, she definitely was running away. She had to apologize.

Taking a deep breath, Mary Jane steeled herself and walked towards the other Mary. She was still looking down at her magazine and didn't realize she was there till she stood in front of her.

"H-Hey, Mary!" Mary Jane cringed. God, she sounded like an idiot. Mary looked up and her eyes widened when she saw who exactly it was that greeted her, "H-H-How's it going?" God, stop stuttering! She talked with the Kingpin last night, why was chatting with Mary so weird?

"N-Nothing much." Hearing the other girl stutter made her feel a bit better. Least she wasn't the only one who felt odd, "D-Did something happen? Did I do something wrong?"

"What? No, no! I just, um..." She scratched the back of her head ignoring Crimson's taunting laughter, "I just...wanted to talk to you. Alone."

"Um, but you told me-"

"I-I know, and that's what this is about. Just...follow me."

Mary nodded after a moment of reluctance and they went out of the building (shoot was over anyway) through the back entrance. Mary was quiet the entire time and looked like she wanted to be anywhere but there. Mary Jane gulped nervously and turned to face her once they were alone.

"I-"

"I'm really sorry." Mary Jane clapped her hands together in a begging gesture, much to the other redhead's surprise, "The last time we talked...I was in a really bad place and I took it out on you. I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that."

"N-No, I was being pushy too. And I was freaking out when I realized who you were." The Scarlet Spider. A 'hero', "Uh...so, I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have been like that, especially since you saved me twice."

"D-Don't worry about it. I just..." God, she really needed to work on the whole apology thing, "Like I said it was mostly my fault and I was in a bad place. I've been doing some...soul searching, I guess you could call it." Right, she'd accepted that she was a serial killer and that she was (mostly) fine with that. Whoever said being yourself was always healthy and positive was speaking a load of shit.

"So...you're a superhero now?" she asked with a slight smile.

"Not exactly." Mary's brows furrowed worriedly, "Ah, but I'm not a supervillain either! It's...It's complicated." Said every headbook status ever, "I mean I'm no Spider-Woman but I'm not like Jack-o-Lantern either. It's...somewhere in between."

"So...like Spider-Man?"

"I guess...?" Yes, she really was just admitting to someone she killed people at night. For her next trick she'd unmask on live TV, "You...aren't going to tell anyone, right?" Bit late to ask, but hey.

"You did save me twice so I don't see any reason too." Mary put both hands behind her back and tapped her right foot on the dirt, "Uh...so, you didn't actually get your powers from the Mist, right? I was too surprised to think about it before but you were fighting with Spider-Woman a year ago before the Mist ever showed up."

"Yeah, it's...something different." She shook her head, "I can't tell you the exact details, sorry. Trust me, it's for both your safety and mine."

"I understand." She nodded.

Mary Jane smiled, the heavy feeling in her chest finally receding, before her phone rang again. It was Cindy, "Hold on, I gotta take this. Hit me, Spinny." She listened to the older woman's quick instructions. Gwen tracked that Roxxon guy's mad science lab and it was time to raid the place. Already she felt Crimson humming in the back of her mind. Scientists who kidnapped innocent people and experimented on them for some corrupt CEO. Perfect.

Mary Jane didn't even notice her mouth quirking up in a nasty smile till she saw the look of surprise on Mary's face.

"...I gotta go."

"You called her 'Spinny'...did you mean Spinerette?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. They're gonna hit up some place and since Lana - uh, Striker - is still on her camping trip. Guess she figured they needed a little extra muscle."

"So, you know other heroes too..." There was that unreadable look again. As quick as it came it was gone and Mary smiled brightly, "Uh, good luck! Call me when you're back so we can hang out, okay?"

"Y-Yeah, cool! I definitely will!"

She shifted back into her costume and swung out the alley, completely missing the way Mary's hands shook and how her lips quivered in barely restrained envy.

* * *

This was it.

Donald lowered himself gently to the edge of the roof and looked down at the abandoned car lot. Spider-Woman had called him an hour prior and they put the plan in motion. Spider-Man was to be lured here at this spot so they could finally put an end to this dark stain in their lives. Finally, he would make that thug pay for keeping Spider-Woman from where she belonged.

Spider-Man was already there. He looked down and sneered at his shabby attire. His jacket, despite the material, was crude in appearance an the mask he wore looked like something a ghoul would wear rather than a hero. Even the bike he leaned against was crudely stitched together.

Time to end this.

Donald floated down right in front of him, "Spider-Man." He looked up, arms still crossed, and didn't say a word. Anyone else who saw this scene would've laughed. Here Donald stood, wreathed in gold and hair blonde, while the thug in his black attire looked for all the world like the criminal Donald knew he was. It couldn't have looked more appropriate if he wished it.

"Donald Roxxon," he said finally, voice distorted by whatever technology he had in that ghoulish mask, "Come here to kill me yourself?"

"Whatever do you mean?"

"I mean did you finally get tired of seeing your hired goons fail?" Donald's eyebrow twitch. How did... "The last time was when that clown Boomerang tried to hold that TV station hostage, right?"

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean."

"Save the cover story, I already got the info from one of your assassins-for-hire. You really should keep a better lid on it."

"I see." His cocky smile shifted into a sneer. Well, it didn't matter, "So you know. Why haven't you done anything about it?"

"I had actual threats to worry about more than some overgrown kid still hiding behind his daddy's money." Oh, how that thug sounded so nonchalant about that. Donald wanted to wrap his hands around his neck and squeeze, "Was actually wondering if I should've told the press..."

That caused Donald to laugh, "The press? And who would believe criminal trash like you?" Oh, how amusing. Did he truly believe the sheep would believe him despite his reputation? It was pathetic, "No matter what you say they would never trust someone like you over someone like me."

"I wasn't talking about the bounty. I was talking about your little pet project." He paused, letting the words hanging in the air for a moment before continuing, "I know what you've been doing. Kidnapping people and butchering them so you can get powers, so you can pretend that you're more than a manchild in a suit playing the CEO." He paused again, "You're not denying it."

"Why bother?" Donald sneered once more, "So what, you plan to go to the newspapers and accuse me? On what evidence? Assuming you weren't arrested on the spot there's no chance for the vindication you're seeking. Yes, I did it, and you'll be the last to know of it. Spider-Woman has betrayed you, fool. You'll be sent to the deepest, darkest hole in Ryker's where you can scream your accusations till your throat goes hoarse."

"You sure about that?"

That voice...Donald turned to the source and stepped back in surprise when she saw Spider-Woman crouched gracefully atop a street light. This...This must've been part of the plan, "Spider-Woman, thank God you've come. This thug just-"

"Can it, Gaston. I'm sick of playing pretend." She snarled. The utter hate in her voice made him freeze, "Honestly, though, i can't believe you fell for that. Then again I'm surprised you can see anything past that gigantic ego of yours."

"I...I don't understand..."

"Maybe this'll clue you in, bud." Spider-Man tossed a phone and it slid across the gravel to Donald's feet. He looked down at the screen and his blood turned to ice at the video playing on the screen, "Spider-Woman's been recording ever since you got here and we got a friend of ours to hack it to the jumbo screens. That bounty, those people you took...the entire city knows."

"This can't be..." No, this was all wrong. This was supposed to be Spider-Man's fall. Spider-Woman was supposed to be _his_.

"It totally _can_ be, asshole." Spider-Woman flipped and landed in front of Spider-Man, "Oh, and before you start going on and on about how you'll kill everyone if we don't let you go? We've already got that covered. All of those 'scientists' that worked for you, all the people who did your kidnapping...you're _all_ going to jail. The people you've victimized are going to get justice."

This...This couldn't be...he had to

Donald screamed and, with no other plan, flew straight towards Spider-Man with his hands outstretched. This was _his_ fault. He turned Spider-Woman against, he forced his hand into hiring those mercenaries just to get rid of him. He would kill him!

Spider-Woman flipped and kicked him straight across his jaw. Donald stumbled back and Spider-Woman shot two lines of webbing to his chest then tossed him bodily against a nearby parked car.

"Stay back, Peter. Let me handle this!" Spider-Woman screamed.

"You'd protect him...after everything he's done?!" Donald forced himself to stand and seethed. Spider-Woman crouched down in a combat position, "Don't you see what he is?! He's nothing more than a thug! He should've stayed in the ground where he belon-"

She webbed his mouth shut, "God, do you ever shut up? Just give up already. It's over."

Donald charged towards her. He didn't want to hurt her, but it was obvious she was confused and unwilling to see reason. She shot two more lines of webbing at him and he willed himself to become intangible. The ability strained him and didn't last for long but it was enough for his current needs, "You made me do this!" He grabbed her by the neck and raised her up, "I didn't want to-"

She grabbed both his thumbs and twisted. Donald screamed before Spider-Woman flipped back and kicked him upside the jaw. He tasted blood.

He barely managed to regain his bearings before two shots rang out and his right shoulder flared in pain, "You...!" He turned and glared at Spider-Woman with a look of utter hate. Even now he got in his way, "I'll kill you...!"

Spider-Woman swung to the side and attempted to kick him once more. Donald phased through the attack and made himself solid once more before he tackled the thug to the ground, "Haha...you'll finally-"

Face slacking, Donald looked down at his right side and saw a knife embedded in the flesh, "Should've paid more attention." Spider-Man gripped the knife tightly and pulled it out with a painful twist.

Spider-Man kicked him away and stood once more. Donald stumbled back, hands grasping at the wound as the searing pain worsened. What in the... "Hey, don't forget about me!" He looked up just in time for Spider-Woman to punch him straight across his face. He attempted to make himself intangible again only for the pain to flare up.

"Th-This wasn't supposed to be how..."

She kicked him hard in the chest and he slammed painfully against the side of a building. Before he could do anything else she pinned him to the wall in a thick coat of webbing that left nothing but his head and the small of his legs exposed.

Gwen looked down hatefully at the soon to be former CEO before webbing his mouth for good measure, "Guess he's done." Peter crouched down beside him and gripped his shoulder hard, "He's gonna live, right?" She still had her doubts on him having that knife again. It wasn't that she didn't trust him, but the idea of wounds that couldn't be healed creeped the hell out of her.

"Should be fine once I take care of that wound." He stood back up, "You sure he'll be behind bars?"

"Trust me, companies like this live for cutting people off. Now that he just made a confession I'm expecting some rebranding to happen." She ignored Roxxon's glare and resisted the urge to give him the middle finger, "Hey, you should probably get out of here for now. We'll meet up back home."

"You sure."

"Yeah, I'll explain to the cops when they get here."

And explain she did. Not that she had to do much considering that candid confession (thank you, Norah), and she imagined that those scientists and victims would be very chatty once Cindy and MJ got them out there.

She couldn't stop smiling all the way back to their apartment. It was finally over. She didn't have to pretend to be into that pathetic asshole or that she hated Peter. Sure, she expected backlash from her 'fans' considering how the break-up was fake, but she'd just tune it out. Compared to being accused of murder she could take a few resentful words from desperate fanboys (and fangirls).

"Honey, I'm home!" she said loudly once she was through the window. Peter smiled slightly and she pulled him into a kiss. After being forced to act like arm candy and pretending to be some kind of egotistical maniac this felt just right, "God, I missed this..." She put her hand into the crook of his neck and hummed.

"Not like we were acting different when we're alone."

"I know, but...ah, just shut up and let me have this."

He pulled them to the couch and they both made up for lost time. Nothing too graphic, apparently there was a bruise from when Roxxon slammed him to the ground, but the relief from this charade coming to an end made it feel better than normal. People saved, a CEO and his stooges behind bars and once they got to the rest of the people Roxxon was dealing with they could finally close the book on this damn thing.

So of course Peter's phone rang.

Gwen (reluctantly) pulled back while Peter answered the video call. It was Murdock, to no one's surprise, "What do you want, Matt?"

"Did I interrupt something? You sound irritated. Ah, no time for our usual back and forth. Something's come up."

"I'm listening."

"I'm sure you're aware that Gao's been funding your old friends the Lanterns to use as disposable bodies." Gwen scowled. Yeah, like those assholes weren't bad enough, "Well, it seems as if she might be expanding. We've just gotten word that Murakami's been arrested and sent to Ryker's."

"What? Why?"

"My theory? Recruitment. The Hand's influence might have been reduced due to Alexandra's death but they still have some strings they can pull. Assuming I'm correct I imagine they'll try to gather prospective soldiers from the most dangerous inmates then find a way to smuggle us out. I suppose we should be flattered that they're desperate enough to reach this point."

"What are we doing about it then?"

Then Murdock _smiled_. Not good, "We're going to get ourselves arrested."

"...Are you-"

"You've gotta be kidding me?!" Gwen shouted, speaking up for the first time, "Are you insane? No, that's a stupid question, of course you are. You want Peter, who still hasn't gotten his powers back, to put himself in prison, where every prisoner will probably have personalized shivs with his name on it?!" Not to mention the fact that he'd probably get shrunk down to like three inches if he was lucky.

"Ms. Stacy, you're there as well? My apologies for not greeting you." He hummed, "As for this plan, do know that we aren't actually going to go to the police station with our hands held up. Moon Knight has contacts, as does Spinerette, and they can help smuggle us inside. We will be given masks, new identities, and Daisy Johnson will ensure we're kept an eye on while inside."

"If it's so simple why don't _you_ just do it? Least if you're gone we know no one will care."

"As much faith as you seem to have for my abilities I doubt I'll be able to accomplish it on my own. That's why we're entering as a group, Peter included. Even in his weakened state his sixth-sense should prove invaluable."

"Better idea: why not just, I dunno, use these contacts to visit from the _other_ side of the bars?"

"Murakami's under strict lock and key, Ms. Stacy, and if we go in asking to see him then Gao and her cronies will catch on. In the best case scenario we aim to find out what Murakami's exact goal is and perhaps ensure that his prison sentence becomes far more real than he imagined it to be."

"...What do you think, Peter?" Gwen bit her lip. As much as she didn't like this plan it was ultimately his choice. He didn't like her seducing Roxxon but he still supported her.

"We'll have to see. The Hand's tenacious enough on its own; I don't wanna know what they'll be like if they get any freaks on their side." He looked back at Matt, "Let's start planning."

* * *

**Background Character J: **Everyone else saw that video, right?

**Reply from ChiefMemeChef: **Hard to miss. Always knew that **Roxxon** guy was fucked up but hiring supervills and experimenting on people? Hope he enjoys prison.

**Reply from Matt Z: **So I guess that** Spider-Man** and **Spider-Woman** didn't actually break up? From what I'm hearing that was all a fakeout cause Roxxon had a mad crush on Spider-Woman.

**Reply from EPFrog: **You never know. Maybe they're still not together and the only think they faked was had hostile the break-up?

**Reply from Maxime M: **Keep dreaming fanboy. Those two are probably bumping spiders right now.

**Reply from BirdCage: **Well I for one am disappointed. I actually improved my opinion on Spider-Woman when I thought she finally abandoned that abusive asshole, but now she's come crawling back to him. Teaching girls that they should go back to their abusers, so healthy.

**Reply from [Dylan]: **Lol what? Since when was Spider-Man abusive?

**Reply from That Guy: **He's not, or at least we've never seen any proof he is. It's just these social justice warriors projecting to get more likes.

**Reply from Maxime M: **Also really stupid. Like, Spider-Woman is stronger than him. Way stronger. We've seen her flipping train cars while Spider-Man can barely push a 4-wheeler.

**Reply from BirdCage: **Abuse comes in many forms, not that I expect any of you to understand.

* * *

**And so ends the epic love story between Spider-Woman and Donald Roxxon. Readers made it very clear for multiple chapters now that they wanted him gone so gone he is. Least one sub-plot from the last volume's finally been fixed.**

**Anyway, we're now set up for a possible prison arc. Or not. Gwen does suggest other methods like just visiting in prison or maybe even sneaking inside without being taken in as a prisoner.**

**Speaking of arcs, a part of me is wondering if I should just do both Devil's Breath and Spider-Island or bite the bullet and cut the latter off despite my initial plans for Spider-Queen to be the big bad guy fought JRPG style. **

**Questions:**

**1\. So what do you guys think, prison arc yay or nay? If we do get a prison arc I can show off just how the Raft works and maybe put in some cameos of previous villains the cast dealt with. Also, hallway fights, cause people like those. Noir not having his powers back yet (he'll get it back soon, promise) also allows for some tension.**

**2\. So what do you guys think of Matt and MJ now that they shared some actual conversation? It's different from how she talks with Felicia but there is some understanding there. **

**Review Answers:**

**Roxasdualwielder - I assume by 'main characters' you're referring to Gwen and Peter? Either way hopefully stopping Roxxon cuts into the awkward tangle plot a bit.**

**Ranchod das Chanchad - Thanks :) As for Lana's dad? Not so far. He's a scumbag but, so far, he isn't a criminal so he gets away with what he's done. It sucks, but sometimes people can dodge karma. Same way Jameson insulted and abused Gwen for years but his only 'penalty' is being forced out to be a radio host instead of being sued for years of libel. **

**Glad you liked Mary Jane. As for Felicia vs Matt, this chapter does show him and Mary Jane bonding a bit and talking to each other amicably. With regards to her being Scarlet Spider, she's definitely about on par with Noir or Moon Knight. She does kill people but not nearly as much as Punisher or V1 Bullseye.**

**That Geeky Guy - Fluff for Cindy? Scott or Silver?**

**rc48177 - Don't they fit considering Mary Jane's her own character? She's a serial killer vigilante attached to a murder blob. She has no chance for a relationship with a normal person.**

**Titan616 - Power awakenings always suck in this verse :P As for Mary Jane, her newfound confidence is good but it isn't helping Mary (her friend) any...**

**henchman213 - Devil's Breath is winning the votes.**

**Lol noob - Nope, he's not the baddie - for Gwen's side it's Hobgoblin. As for why they couldn't capture him, the heroes have literally the one psychic (Aracely) and Lana points out her mind reading is unreliable. They couldn't just jail/kill him since that doesn't stop the bounty and that risks the scientists liquidating the site and killing all the people they kidnapped.**

**Either way he's gone now.**

**Ch4aos4ever - I'd argue she is still a serial killer. While her targets are very deserving she fits the M.O and mindset of a serial killer more compared to Noir. Not that it's a bad thing; in a world like this someone like Mary Jane can still be a net positive. **


	45. He's not trapped in there with them

**Read the last chapter of Ghost Spider. It...was not a good send-off. Oh well, I haven't really read seriously since, like, 7 issues ago when I realized how meandering and same-y Maguire's writing had become.**

**Anyway, Devil's Breath is still leading over Spider Island for the finale. A part of me is wondering whether I can get away with doing both or, as Nerdman3000 suggests, just merging them somehow. Eh, I guess we'll see. It's still far off. **

**After this chapter hopefully I'll be able to write the finale for Two Spiders on a Web and finally finish that up. It's gone way overdue.**

* * *

**TheAlexation: **Alright I'll I need to vent right now: I'm jealous of **Spider-Man**.

**reply from ImBored: **Is this meant to be news?

**reply from GustavoSalvador: **I mean I guess it's kinda unique since he's jealous of Spider-Man specifically? Most people point to the **Avengers** or the Gifted (who didn't get crap powers). Why him specifically, **TheAlexation**?

**reply from TheAlexation: **Cause he got away with it! Just giigle search Peter Parker and all you'll find is the bio of a textbook school shooter. He was a nerd who basically had no friends and got bullied by everyone. Now look at him. He's superpowered, he's leading a group of vigilantes fighting a bunch of ninjas (who apparently existed in ancient times?), and he killed a _demon_ in the middle of Times Square! For shit's sake, he's going out with the person who killed him!

**reply from Awoken One 111: **Now that you think about it it does remind me of an isekai manga. All that's missing is him getting hit with Bus-kun.

**reply from Coldboi: **Wouldn't **Spider-Woman **count as the bus? :P

**reply from GustavoSalvador: **Not funny dude :/

**reply from TheAlexation: **All I'm saying is it's not fair. Why does Peter Parker get brought back with cool powers and go on amazing adventures with a hot, superpowered girlfriend and get to hang out with **Spinerette** or **Scarlet Spider** when people like us have to do a 9-to-5 job no matter how much we work our asses off? How does that make sense?

**reply from ImBored: **That's just how life is, yeah? Not everyone gets the same opportunities in life. Why do I get to grow up in a well-off family when some other guy across the city has his parents die and has to work since he could walk? People aren't born equal, simple as that.

**reply from GustavoSalvador: **That and I'm not sure how 'amazing' those adventures are. I mean the guy gets legit shot at on a daily basis and he wasn't looking like he was having fun during the **Jack-o-Lantern spree **last year. It only looks cool when you don't have to deal with all the shit that comes with it.

**reply from Rougamaru: **Yep. You said you have a 9-5 job **TheAlexation?** Well I'm sure there's someone somewhere who's complaining that you got that job while they have to do something else to earn money. Perspective.

**reply from AugieEros: **I had a friend who won the lottery. Didn't do anything to 'deserve' it but I'm not gonna spend the rest of my life complaining that it should've been me.

**reply from TheAlexation: **Whatever. I don't care what crap he has to deal with, being a superpowered badass with a famous hero girlfriend and a city that loves you is worth it. Betcha he's having another adventure right now.

* * *

Peter got punched in the face. Hard.

He pressed both hands against the cold, steel floor and spat blood. The floor was a pristine white, somehow still looking spotless despite the clientele it housed. The crimson fluid stuck out heavily in the bright, almost reflective surface, "Heh..." He sneered and looked up at the brute that hit him. A big guy, easily nearing 7 feet tall, and an albino to boot. The chalky white skin and hair only made his smirk stand out even more.

He was just minding his own damn business, eating the slop the called food in this dollhouse before the pasty faced mook suddenly dropped him like a sack of bricks, "What's wrong, new fish?" albino taunted, more emanating than speaking. His voice was deep, more akin to a rumbling bass than his own fake baritone, and it easily drew the attention of the others on the table.

Barely an hour in the dollhouse and he was already getting hassled for prison power plays. Just perfect.

How did he get here again?

He remembered meeting up with the others just a couple of days ago, "Is this really necessary?" Peter asked, leaning back against the dining room table with his arms crossed. Gwen and Mary took up the couch while Cindy stood nearby, eyes on a notepad and only barely looking up at his question. On the living room table was a Upad with Lana on the other end of a video call. She was still in her camping trip but insisted being present when Cindy told her what was going on.

It was Cindy's idea to do this. Anytime they did 'something really fucking stupid', to use her words, she figured the others needed to know just in case. Gwen was all for it while he and Mary were more reluctant. What exactly did 'something stupid' mean for all of them? Barely a day went by when they weren't putting their necks out on the chopping block and they didn't meet for those.

Before anyone could answer the door slammed open and Norah ran in, sweaty and panting, "Hey, sorry I'm late!" She stopped and put her hands on her knees, face flushed. Peter raised a slight brow at her attire. A sleeveless leather vest with a dark top underneath that left large swathes of her chest open for all to see paired with a short, gray skirt that barely went past her thighs. A pair of dark boots completed the ensemble.

"Uh...nice outfit." Mary said. Peter didn't miss the way her eyes lingered.

"Yeah, Nor. Trying a new look as a biker bitch?" Lana asked.

"Haha, fuck you." She gave them both the middle finger and gratefully accepted the glass of water Cindy gave her, "I was undercover investigating the Dogs of Hell. Remember those guys?"

"You mean the group of racist assholes wearing 80's leather jackets? Hard to forget." Gwen scoffed. The Dogs were a motorcycle gang who had more than a little streak of race supremacy in their credo. First it was against anyone who didn't share their skin color and after last year it was anyone who got hit with their damn mist. Norah must've been tempting to them, a pretty blonde who looked like someone they could 'educate' about their manifestos.

"What are you doing with the Dogs, Summers?" Peter asked.

"Page gave me a heads up. Apparently your friend Gao's hiring them out as delivery men to smuggle her heroin into the city." Cindy raised a brow at that, "Thought I could go in and get some info, maybe some guy'd let something slip while he was playing grab ass." That explained her looking like a biker side-dish. He had to admit, it impressed him how much she didn't care using her looks to get what she needed.

"I'm guessing you looking like a marathon was cause of that, then?" Cindy asked.

"Yeah. One of the guys got proper sloppy drunk and dragged me up to his room. Tazed him in the balls and got some info that I passed onto Page." Which probably meant she'd send them out once this prison gig was done.

"You could've called me. I would've helped you," Mary said with a slight frown.

"Didn't think I needed it. Wasn't expecting a fight, and I was totally right. Just dropped a rope from the second floor and ran. Those racist pricks just see a pretty blonde so they aren't gonna remember me." Norah sighed and sat down on a nearby chair, "Anyway, Cindy called me over and said it was 'super important' so I ran over here. So what's the sitch? Did Gwen find out about me and Ben's love affair?"

"Wait, what?"

"Ignore her, Gwen. You know she makes terrible jokes." Peter shook his head, "It's nothing serious, Summers. Cindy's just being overprotective."

"Uh, you're planning to go to a maximum security prison where you'll be shrunk down to three inches tall and surrounded by murderers, kidnappers, rapists and crooked lawyers. I think I'm well within my rights to call for a group meeting," Cindy said.

"I'm with here, Peter. This seems really stupid," Gwen said, "I mean I get that this Murakami guy is dangerous and all, but he was dumb enough to put himself in prison. Why not just let him stay there and rot?"

"If the prisons here weren't revolving doors I'd feel more confident in that plan." Peter grunted, "And even if they weren't you know the Hand has influence. Even without Alexandra they know the right palms to grease. I doubt Gao would've sent Murakami into the dollhouse without knowing a way to get him and his new recruits back from being doll sized."

"So your plan is is to shrink yourself down too?" Lana asked, "Better idea, why not just go over there and grab the guy while you're the size of Godzilla to him? Magic kung-fu doesn't fucking matter when you're bug sized."

"You forget that I'm not exactly on the law's Christmas list? I show up there I'm sure they already have a cell prepped for me and the rest of the group." Gwen told him about that Gyrich guy, how he was considered too useful to lock up, but he didn't want to push his luck. A few nudges and greased palms and nudged shoulders in the background was a different thing from complete immunity.

"Yeah, I'm not much help here either. Neither's Gwen," Cindy pursed her lips, "Being Avengers gives us more leeway but we can't just go in and pluck a prisoner out without proof. There are already groups complaining that the shrink tech is dehumanizing and infringing on basic human rights. If people find out we're grabbing prisoners with no concrete proof this thing's gonna go belly up."

"Well there goes Lana's plan to go Titan Attack." Norah smirked, "I'm guessing you're going with fake identities since going in as Spider-Man is just asking to get shanked on the first day. What do you need me to do?"

"I was hoping you could work with Cin, see if you could get me a list of people I need to keep an eye on." Even now powers were still rare and he knew the Hand would've been gunning for those first. Still, not everyone with 'gifts' was worth recruiting. The Hand weren't exactly interested in a guy who could glow in the dark.

"Got it. Since I just did Page a favor and this is technically for her I'm sure this'll be easy." She smirked and gave the ok gesture, "Let's just hope you find a way to turn back. It was weird enough you were fighting crime as the amazing spider-boy, doing it when you're doll sized is gonna be real stupid."

"I'm getting some counter particles from Jan, so that's covered," Gwen said, "...I still don't like this. I understand why you're going in, but why you specifically? You've got five people in that group of weirdos. Why not just let them cover it? For god's sake, you don't even have your powers back yet!"

"Yeah, I'm with Spider-Gwen. Going in there with your one month of kung-fu montages doesn't seem like a good idea," Lana added.

He definitely saw their point. While his last outing with Cindy proved he could still handle himself even without his powers he definitely couldn't deny he wasn't at his peak right now without the Spider-God's blessings.

Still, he didn't like the idea of sitting on his hands while the rest of his 'team' went after Murakami. He didn't fight the Hand this long to end up sitting on the sidelines.

"I can barely trust most of them to tie their shoelaces, last thing I'm gonna do is let Murakami slip away cause they messed something up." And he couldn't deny that he felt...ugh, _responsible_ for at least some of them. Rand was nice (a little _too_ nice, honestly) and didn't deserve what he got and Moon Knight - for all his many, _many_ flaws - was there with him fighting against the Hand last year. Wouldn't do to put them at risk while he sat back and watched.

"Sounds like you've got it all planned out, Tiger." Mary smirked and leaned back on the chair. She definitely seemed better nowadays compared to before, "Not sure what I can add here, unless you want me to stand guard outside the prison with a rolled up newspaper."

"Actually, I think I have something," Cindy said. She set her notes down and a quick scan showed a crudely drawn string theory web, "That Maggia goon you gave us cracked when he realized just what was waiting for him. Governments really don't like it when people start trading the Gifted around. Pretty much treat it like swapping around nukes." Well, that wasn't dehumanizing or anything.

"Please don't tell me he got a plea deal and he's getting out?" Mary scowled lightly.

"Not so much, I'm making sure of that. He and those sick bastards in Roxxon's butcher shop." Peter looked down with a frown. He wasn't there himself but he got a good enough picture from what Cindy and Mary told him. Apparently Mary went a bit overboard 'just a few times' when they saw the rooms, "Anyway, looks like we're gonna be spread out a bit. Could I count on you and Gwen to help out?"

"Sure that's a good idea? You know how I can get." Gwen winced but didn't say anything.

"Just make sure you don't leave a bloodbath and we'll be good. That means no executions and no slasher film crap. We can put these guys in jail and dead men can't talk."

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on her. We're overdue for a team-up anyway." Gwen smiled at Mary who reluctantly smiled back. That wasn't awkward or anything, "Speaking of team-ups...Norah, when were you planning on telling us that Punisher was back in town?"

"Uh...slipped my mind?" Norah smiled crookedly. Gwen looked distinctly unamused, "Alright, fine, I didn't wanna make a big deal out of it. I know you two don't exactly have warm fuzzies for each other and I figured he'd talk to Ben at some point. No need to get Spider-Woman involved."

"Hell of an entrance, at least," Peter muttered. Undeniably helpful, too. When the hell were the Spider-God's presents gonna kick back in?

"Any reason Punisher's not coming along, Pete?" Lana asked.

"You do realize that if that happens everyone in that prison except the guards are going to die, right?" Peter asked back. It was a maximum security prison. No one who robbed purses from old ladies was put in there. Would've been a buffet for someone like Castle, "We're there for Murakami, no one else."

"Speaking of, could you clarify your plan again? I already got Daisy to fit you with face masks and fake identities but you've been pretty vague about what exactly you're planning to _do _with this Murakami guy," Cindy said.

"Moon Knight wants him extracted. Gao's plan, least as far as we can tell, is for him to start recruiting so the Hand can get more Gifted into their ranks. Hell, even just anyone they could use. Remember Jack's group?" They all winced, "We don't need another group of psychopaths running around. We've still got Sowande under lock and key so if we can get two out of the four Fingers we might be able to get some leverage."

"...Why do I get the feeling this guy's gonna die?" Lana asked sarcastically.

"Can't deny it's not an option." Again, Gwen winced and he gave her an apologetic look, "You know what the Hand is like. Putting them in a jail cell is hardly an option." He paused briefly, "...Besides, they've died enough already that one more won't tip the scales over."

"Great, now the mood's heavy again." Lana sighed and adjusted her screen. Peter briefly caught a glimpse of trees and a campfire behind her, "Before we finish up I figured I should tell you guys something happened. Remember when I sent you and Spider-Gwen to interview Holloway?"

"Hard to forget. You could've warned me she'd practically throw herself at Peter," Gwen said, annoyed. Mary covered her mouth and snorted.

"Yeah, well, looks like there's been some...side-effects." Lana took a deep breath and adjusted the screen again. Through the shaky camera they all saw Sue Storm sitting on a nearby tree stump before she suddenly flicked and disappeared. The flickering continued before the blonde took a deep breath and solidified fully, "Yeah...guess Sue's one of the lucky ones."

"Sue Storm's one of the Gifted? Damn, every news media in the city's gonna want to know that." Norah whistled sympathetically.

"No shit. I'm gonna go talk to Morgan and Hawthorne next week but we gotta deal with Sue too. Sue figures that she can't really hide this thing and it'd be better if she revealed herself first instead of getting caught out. Nor, could you..."

"Do an interview? Sure. Can't be any worse than Gwen's." Norah shrugged, ignoring the the look of mock offense the other blonde gave her, "Geez, it's never boring with you guys, is it?"

"Says the one who literally just went undercover in a biker gang?" Mary asked back with a wry smirk.

"See? This is why the meetings work. We get to update each other, help each other out and make sure we clarify things when it seems like our friends are doing something really freaking stupid." She looked right at him as she said that. Peter rolled his eyes and gave her a rude hand gesture in return.

"Yeah. Thanks, mom." Peter said. Gwen snickered while Cindy glared at him, "Alright, if Matt's right then we should be in the Raft by tomorrow. You sure we can't just get dead collars?"

"Not if you wanna be inconspicuous. Guards have trackers on every single collar and they'll notice if a bunch of prisoners came in with non-functioning collars." She frowned before speaking next, "And I can't deny that you might piss someone off and they decide to activate it. If the guards and prisoners don't see you reacting you might as well just scream 'I'm Spider-Man'."

"Can't they just fake it?" Mary asked.

"Doubtful. Saw it in action once when Rhino tried for an escape. Electricity actually arcs out of the metal so you can't just play pretend." She crossed her arms and sighed, "I really don't like this, Pete. We only have a couple of guards inside who know what's up so your safety net is made out if tissue paper."

"I'll be careful, Cin, don't worry."

"Cool. Now that the heavy stuff is over with-" Cindy suddenly smiled and put up her phone. Peter raised a brow when he saw the contents, "Comic con! Except in this universe con stands for conclave instead of convention. Whatever, point is, it's happening right here in New York in a couple of weeks and we're totally going!"

"That's...an abrupt change of topic," Mary said.

"Figured we needed to do something to lighten the mood," Cindy replied, "Look, as someone who spent ten years in a bunker-"

"Yes, we know," they all said.

"I know better than anyone what it's like to get stuck in your own head," she continued, completely ignoring their barb, "And we _all_ need a break. We've all been running around with barely any chance to breath."

"I feel like I should point out I've been in a coma up until recently," Lana snarked.

"And the doctor told you to take it easy and get some R&R. Which you're definitely not doing by playing detective and Sue freaking Storm turning into the Invisible Woman in this dimension, too. Point is we all need to cut loose and get some time to relax and what better than comic con?"

"Why do I get the feeling this is cause of something that happened in your past?" Gwen asked.

"Don't be silly." Cindy waved her off, "Come on, it'll be fun! We can show up in our costumes and no one'll realize it."

"Going to comic con with a bunch of Superheroes. My brother'd be so jealous if he knew," Norah laughed under her breath.

Two days later and the thought of discussing a group outing was the farthest thing from his mind. The entire process was a blur. The fake prison transfer, the collar being strapped to his neck and being forced down the sterile white halls that led to his temporary prison.

They didn't take any chances. His arms were bound with heavy manacles and he was shoved roughly by the guards who led him inside. They forced him on his knees and activated the collar, 'testing' it out to make sure he knew exactly who was in charge. He didn't say anything. For all they knew he - David Walters - was just another criminal who had at least a couple of murders under his belt.

Then again, he was pretty sure they wouldn't have treated him any better if they knew who he really was...

And now he was here, face down on the floor because of some guy who wanted to prove he had the biggest pecker on the lunch table. Peter wiped the blood with his wrist and stood up. Most of the prisoners were watching them now, though a few continued to eat like nothing was wrong. Probably been here long enough to get used to the show.

Off to the side he saw a few guards (none of which were their contacts, unfortunately) nudge each other and just watched. They were big, easily twice as tall as any of them with just about all of the prisoners coming up to their waists. Big enough to be intimidating and get involved but not so big that they wouldn't be able to walk the halls without being forced to crawl.

Then there was Matt, just eyeing him from the side of his own pile of mush. He was the only one he shared a block with - Moon Knight and Rand were in the next block over. This really wasn't how he wanted it to go.

"The hell's your problem?" he asked back with a snarl.

"New fish actin' like he owns the place. Figured you needed to learn your lesson." He grinned at that, and he saw a few of the others at the table match his expression. Peter sneered. He thought the new face would've given him some leeway but apparently not. Oh well, this'd make things easier. If he could kick the patsy's rear in then people would know he wasn't someone they could hassle.

"Fine then. If that's how you wanna play it." Peter lowered slightly into a combat stance, "Bring it on, you pasty faced patsy!"

The albino growled and threw another punch straight for his jaw. Peter dodged the heavy hit and grabbed his arm before he could pull back. His first instinct was to hit the elbow and break it, which was exactly what he did. Big bastard didn't even get a chance to look surprised before the blow impacted and a loud snap rang out.

"Agghhh, you son of a bitch!" Albino swiped at him with his free hand Peter dodged back. He back hit the table and, before Albino could go in for another swing, he grabbed the metal tray and smacked him across the face with it. He hit him one more time for good measure and kicked him straight in the jaw once he was on the floor, staining the red jumpsuit with blood.

His spider-sense suddenly rang and a quick, painful current of electricity ran through him. Peter was forced on his knees and it took everything he had not to collapse in a twitching, frothing mess on the floor.

"What the hell is going on here?" Peter looked up through swimming vision at the old man who stood in front of him. He was big just like the guards but the head of salt and pepper hair stuck out. The warden, one John Walker, was a nasty piece of work. He didn't compromise, didn't let anyone threaten him and made sure the prisoners knew that, for all their power plays, they were nothing more than confined ants.

Which made him perfect for a place like this. And the same reason they couldn't tell him. He knew for a fact Walker would've loved to have him and his entire group trapped in this place.

The warden looked between him and the coughing, bleeding Albino and scowled, "Lunch time's over. Get these two back in their cells."

One of the guards deactivated the shock on his collar and dragged him back to his cell. Didn't even give him a warning before he tossed him into the cell and the bulletproof glass door slid close behind him, "Hell of a first impression you made, Walters," the guard said. Peter didn't say anything, "Clean yourself up. You look like shit."

Peter grabbed the side of the bed and pulled himself up. He walked shakily to the sink and looked down at the keenly polished metal. The face of a stranger greeted him. David Walters, a 30 year old redhead from Wisconsin with a laundry list of crimes from gun smuggling, human trafficking and murder for hire. 'He' had a reputation for violence and attempted escapes so they sent 'him' to the Raft.

"Shit..." He winced at the blood that ran down his nose. The mask was tight enough that no one could tell at a glance but the blood was all too real. He opened the faucet and washed the blood away, ignoring the way his nose throbbed. He was tempted to heal it with chi but the camera on the wall discouraged it. This place was was touted to be inescapable, a real birdcage. He'd believe it when the clowns stopped showing up every other week.

He ignored the toilet - he wasn't planning to use it unless he needed to - and sat down on the bed, watching blankly as the prisoners were shuffled back to their cell. Seeing the guards again reminded him of just how absurd the situation was. Here they were, 3 inches tall, if that, with collars around their necks and the only thing these damned people thought about was being the biggest ant in the hill. He'd have to blend in and play the role perfectly if he didn't want this to be permanent.

Peter looked up at the camera. A green dot of light lit up the bottom of the lens; another reminder that they were being watched. Cindy told them they'd get the occasional break from surveillance thanks to their friends on the inside.

It was five minutes to the lights shutting off when he saw him, "Hey, if you wanted to touch me you coulda just asked! I'll be here all night!" Bullseye grinned and ignored the guard shoving him roughly into one of the cells in the opposite walkway. They weren't exactly across each other but it was enough for him to get a good view of his cell.

Summers and Cin missed him. Either he was a recent transfer or Gao did something to make sure no one would see him coming, "Fuck..." The lights above them shut off and Peter sat back down on the bed with a scowl. Things just got a lot more complicated.

* * *

**4444Nanjia: **Is there anywhere I can lodge a complaint about **Spider-Woman**? Maybe someone I can talk to about her behavior?

**reply from jimmywalls:** Uh...what?

**reply from 4444Nanjia: **A place to give a review. I have some issues with her and wanted to know where I should put them.

**reply from ATetrisBlock: **A...review? Uh she's not a store lady. What's your problem with her anyway?

**reply from 4444Nanjia: **She was rude and unaccommodating. A guy tried to steal my handbag and she stopped him. That was great and all, but when I asked her to give me a lift she said she was busy and couldn't really do any web rides. And then when I asked her to just give me money for an uber instead she _still_ said no.

**reply from Striped Pants 1: **So let me get this straight: she stopped you from being mugged, you asked even more and because she didn't bend over backwards to please you you wanna leave her, what, a bad review?

**reply from 4444Nanjia: **I wasn't asking for much! My car broke down and it would've taken her maybe 15 minutes to swing me over to work. And it's not like asking her for money is wrong or anything. She's rich, she can afford it.

**reply from Captain Crabstacean: **I gotta agree with **4444Nanjia**. She's a hero, it's her job to help people. Besides, she's part of the **Avengers**. People like us pay her salary. She owes it to us to be nicer.

**reply from Kevin bvs: **Do you two even hear yourselves? That's like someone giving you 20 dollars for free and then complaining that you didn't get 50 instead. So ungrateful SMH.

**reply from Raivon: **That and what the hell did you expect? Last I checked the Avengers were a UN taskforce, not an ooper group. You can't just call up their contacts and ask to speak to the manager.

**reply from jimmywalls: **BTW **Wasp** and** Tony Stark** pay, not you two.

**reply from 4444Nanjia: **Ugh, should've known people here wouldn't be any help. Too many fanboys and fangirls :/

**reply from 4444Nanjia: **Forget it, I'll just go to the Avengers twitter page and post. If she's smart she'll see my comment and shape up.

**reply from ATetrisBlock: **10 bucks says she'll show up on Jameson's next podcast...

* * *

Lana cut the call and set her phone down with a sigh. Pete was off to prison and she couldn't even be there to say a proper goodbye. Why he insisted on doing stupid shit like that she really didn't know.

She said as she was already considering going back to fighting crime after having just gotten out of a coma...

Sighing again, she stood up fully and walked over to where Sue sat. The others were gathered around the campfire, giving Sue some much needed space. Sue insisted that they stay over the weekend and finish the trip. Lana figured it was cause they were the only ones here and she didn't want anyone else seeing her now.

And she totally got it. It was bad enough when a nobody like her got exposed by that fuckstick William, but someone like Sue Storm a.k.a America's Sweetheart? Her fans would go _ballistic_. Lana saw the meltdowns people had when Sue's dipshit of a brother got a haircut, she _definitely_ wasn't looking forward to seeing what would happen when her fanboys found out she was one of the Freaks...uh, _Gifted_.

"Hey..." Sue looked up just barely and gave her a slight nod. So far she hadn't said much since her powers kicked in yesterday, but at least she was doing a bit better. Sure she still flickered in and out but at least it was her whole body and not just her eyes or legs. She wasn't tossing them around with those forcefields of her either, which was a plus.

Lana sat next to her and offered her a sandwich, "You should probably eat something."

"...'mnot hungry."

"Just eat anyway." She pressed the sandwich to the blonde's hands and unwrapped her own, "Gabe made these and he'd feel bad if we just tossed em."

"Gabriel...how is he?" Sue asked softly.

"He's fine. We're all fine." Aracely had a bump on her ass and Gabe took a surprise dip but that was nothing to worry about, "Sue, none of us blame you. You know that, right?"

"Why wouldn't you? I-"

"Breathed in some mist and lost control for a bit. Guess what? That happens to everyone who gets put in those damn cocoons!" Speaking of, there was no cocoon in her tent. The mist was definitely modified, "You shoulda seen me when I breathed it in. Made a complete ass of myself and got my head blasted open with a shotgun. Trust me, it could've been way worse."

"That's not very comforting." She took a small bite of her sandwich and smiled slightly, "I'm sorry. This was supposed to be a fun trip and I-"

"Oh for fuck's..." Lana grabbed the other girl by the shoulders and forced her to face her, "Stop. Apologizing! You didn't do anything wrong! If I'm blaming anyone it's Hawthorne and Morgan. _They're_ the ones who decided to throw peanut gas everywhere cause they wanted to swiftgram followers! _You _didn't do anything except freak out when parts of you went invisible. And if you _didn't_ freak out about that I'd be fucking weirded out."

"But-"

"No! No buts!" She hated yelling at her, but with people like Sue it was best to force the issue, "None of this is your fault. Zero. Less then negative. And if you tell me sorry one more time I'm cutting this trip short."

"D-Don't!" Sue held her right arm with her free hand and took a deep, shaky breath, "I'm so- uh, I mean, it's not..." She bit her lower lip, "I know it's not my fault, but I hurt you all last night and if you didn't help me then..."

"Stop thinking about what-ifs; you're never gonna go anywhere with that." Lana sighed, "None of hold what happened against you. You want Aracely to read our fucking minds to prove it we'll do it. I just...this thing is weird enough already, okay? You don't need to go around blaming yourself."

"Mmm." Lana let go of her shoulders and Sue faced ahead to the empty forest, "I don't know how I'm going to explain this to my family."

"What's there to worry about? Thought you were close with your folks."

"Not...exactly. We don't have a _bad_ relationship by any means but they're the kind of people who think expensive presents and nannies make up for family time. I'm sure they won't hate me for it but I honestly think that once they find out they'll try to find some way to try and capitalize on it. Maybe turn 'America's Sweetheart' to something more marketable. And then Johnny's gonna make a tweeter post about the plight of the Gifted for more followers.

"Well that's why I told Pete and the rest, like you said. We can do the interview with Norah and you can do it on your own terms."

"Thanks..." She nodded again, "...Hey, you said you were gonna talk with those two that used the mist, right?"

"The two head bitches of the academy. Yeah, why?"

"Could I...come with you?" Lana gave her a questioning look, "I-I know it seems weird, but...like you said they're responsible for this and I...I don't know how to explain it, but I want to talk to them. Understand why they'd risk something like this."

"Because they care about being top in their little fucking world more than common fucking sense." Lana sneered, "But sure, you can come. I doubt those two trust fund babies'll have the balls to do anything dangerous. Who knows, maybe Sue Storm asking them questions'll take the wind out of their sails. Show them what an actual star looks like."

"Please don't put it like that..."

And so, two days and one interview with Norah later and they were making their way to the witch's lair. Sue took up her left while Aracely practically skipped along on her right. The younger girl looked around in wonder, the visitor's badge slung around her neck swinging with every sudden twist and turn she did. She'd lived here for a while but it was the first time she actually got out of the room without worrying someone would report her.

"You okay, Aracely?" She'd brought her along as insurance. They couldn't have her help with Roxxon cause of that damn bounty and because they couldn't risk his victims getting gas chambered. The witches didn't have that insurance.

"Mm-hm." She nodded happily. Lana was just relieved her angst episode from before was gone. Yeah, like she could've been mind controlling her... "It's...very loud here. Everyone is thinking about so many things. So many selfish things."

"Uh...you wanna go back? Cause I don't wanna risk you going psycho cause of the shit they're saying."

"Hm? No, that's not a problem. It is...imagine like your movies. Gabriel and Sue enjoy the ones where people die horribly and in pain but they're both very nice and not influenced. It is like watching a movie."

"If you say so..." She still felt scummy bringing her here to read those witches minds but Aracely insisted. She said she wanted to pay her back for everything she did for her, "What about you, Sue? Feeling weird?"

"No. Stable...for now." She'd gotten a bit better over the weekend. Not enough to actually use her powers the way Lana did, but enough that she didn't randomly flicker in and out the second they weren't looking. Not that it mattered much. Nor's interview was coming out in a few hours so if these prissy witches took a snapshot it wouldn't change anything.

"Right, you two just lemme do the talking, okay? And...don't pay attention to the shit they say."

She knocked on the door hard as soon as they were close. The fancy, decorated square sunk back and Gabriella Morgan's puckered face greeted her. She looked normal as far as Lana could see, "Ugh, Baumgartner." She kept looking like she sucked on a lemon till her eyes landed on Sue and she gasped, "S-Sue Storm?! What are you doing here?"

"She-"

"I was just visiting Lana and she told me about the people of interest in the school. Thought I should meet them?" Sue's face was lit up in an easy and pleasant smile, showing none of the nerves and anxiety from before. Lana was suddenly reminded that she'd been acting since she was old enough to walk, "Could we come in and chat? I've heard such nice things from you and Diana."

"O-Of course!"

She stepped aside to let them pass. Sue stepped inside first with Lana and Aracely following after. Hawthorne - also looking not at all mutated - looked up from her bed and sat up like someone shoved a pole up her ass when she saw Sue, "W-Woah, what are you-"

"She's here to see _us_, Di." Lana rolled her eyes at just how excited Morgan looked. Then again these were the same people who thought buying modified Terrigen mist from the Serpent Skulls was a good idea.

"Really? Why?"

"I've heard good things about you." Sue sat at one of the chairs and crossed one leg over the other gracefully. Lana stuck to the side without a word while Aracely parked herself in a corner and tried to make herself unnoticeable, "Lana mentioned you both offhand and I recognized your names. Mother and father are planning to do business with your clothing line, Ms. Morgan, and I've only heard good things from your range of cosmetics, Ms. Hawthorne."

"Oh, that makes sense!" Hawthorne grinned while Morgan was already preparing her swiftgram for the barrage of selfies, "Yeah, I think I heard from daddy that we were getting some new business deals."

"Yes, and I just wanted to visit when I had the chance. I'll be debuting Ms. Morgan's line in the next movie and Ms. Hawthorne's lotions have done _wonders _for my skincare routine. I haven't felt as radiant in years."

Wow...she really had them twisted around her finger. Hard to believe it was the same girl who could barely talk to her crush.

"Incidentally I heard about the accidental release from the Terrigen mist a few days prior and I wanted to make sure you were both alright. It wouldn't do for a pair of your caliber to be hurt because of it."

"Oh, we're absolutely fine!" Morgan grinned. Here it came, "Actually, both me and Di got really lucky!"

"Lucky? Like Lana?"

At the reminder that she was, in fact, present both girls expressions soured, "Well...I _guess_, if you wanna call it that." Hawthorne said, eyeing the cross-armed brunette like she was a piece of dogshit on the sidewalk. It took all Lana had not to give her a middle finger back, "I wouldn't call it so...crude, however. We certainly don't go around blasting people like mad bombers."

"Hey, here's an idea: why don't you go fu-"

"Could I see them, perhaps?" Sue interrupted forcefully, "I'll admit I have a fascination with the Gifted and Lana is rather shy about showing her abilities in front of me. Oh, and perhaps we could do a livestream on my account? I'm sure a lot of my fans would just _love _seeing you two!"

That was all the incentive they needed. Lana leaned back on the wall and watched as they showed off her abilities. Morgan's was the most noticeable with her tan skin turning into a bright, golden sheen that made her look like one of those tacky statues Middle East oil barons bought. Hawthorne, meanwhile, was weaving strings of light between her fingers

It looked way too...neat to be accidental power-ups. They must've chosen it specifically, like that goon who went full rockman on her a few weeks ago. Sadly, these two didn't get a sudden case of the dead like he did.

But then, why did Sue get invisibility and forcefields?

"Oh my!" Sue clapped her hands and looked up at them in wonder, "You're right, it's much more graceful than Lana's! Gabr- uh, I meant Ms. Hawthorne-"

"You can call me Gabbie." Hawthorne gave Sue a plastic smile, "Di, too. No need to be so formal, Sue."

"Well...if you're sure. Thank you, Gabbie."

"...Sue is angry," Aracely whispered, so soft that only Lana heard it, "They remind her of the fake friends she had when she was younger. Masks on masks on masks, hungry for fame and attention without a care for her at all."

"Yeah..."

"Oh, could we do the livestream now?" Sue said brightly. The two witches nodded and didn't even care when Sue handed Lana the phone, "Oh, Lana, could you please be a dear and take the video? I hate to bother you."

"No prob, Sue." She forced herself to smile and ignored the smug looks of satisfaction the pair gave her. Oh no, she wasn't part of their clout chasing show. Boo hoo, "Alright, recording."

"Hey all, Sue here!" Sue grinned. How many personalities did she have? "Super impromptu vid, but I wanted to introduce you two people. This is Gabriella Morgan and Diana Hawthorne. Say hey to them, everyone!"

Lana almost put her finger on top of the lens when the two introduced themselves and made a show of their powers. Christ, kill her now.

"Pretty cool powers, huh? I thought so too!" Sue smiled. Lana felt a sudden chill go down her spine, "It's kind of hard to believe something so pretty came because they were willing to gas an entire school with Terrigen mist."

The pair's look of gobsmacked surprise was priceless. Hawthorne was the first one to get her voice back, "W-Wait, what do you-"

"And do you know how they got that mist? Oh, word on the grapevine is they bought it from the Serpent Skulls gang! I heard that those guys are wanted for murder, kidnapping and a whole bunch of other crimes. I mean, that's some scary stuff! Gabbie, why would you make a deal with them? Isn't that crime?" she asked, faux innocence dripping from every word.

"N-No, we didn't-"

"Could you tell us where you bought the mist or even just who you bought it from? Cause I'm really scared knowing that the Serpent Skulls could get so close to Sister's Faith Academy without anyone realizing. I mean, what if they decide to kidnap the other students and put them up for ransom? They've done it before! And from what I heard you did all this just because you wanted powers to be more popular. So weird!"

"You're not-"

"I...I can see something," Aracely whispered, "An image of an alley. They were dropped off close to a sign that says Baker street. Uh...there's a spray painting of a pumpkin on the walls."

"That'll have to do," Lana muttered. She looked back to see and gave her a thumbs up, "Any last words for your fans, Sue?"

"Only that you shouldn't make deals with dangerous gang members. You don't know what they'd do!"

Lana cut the feed and tossed Sue her phone back, "Couldn't have said it better myself." She texted Cindy the details. Sue Storm was big so if the Skulls had even half a brain they'd be scrambling right now. They needed to get on this quick, "Alright, we got what we came for." She would've preferred doing it incognito but beggars couldn't be choosers. Sue did all the work so she wasn't gonna complain.

"Wh-Why did you do that?!" Morgan screamed. Considering she still looked like a gold statue it wasn't as intimidating as she thought, "Do you have any idea what you've done?! You-"

"You're rich enough that it's unlikely you'll get arrested but it doesn't mean you're going to get away scot free," Sue cut in, "Lana told me why you did this, why you put people at risk. You wanted to be popular? Fine. Now the entire city knows that Gabriella Morgan and Diana Hawthorne are so hungry to be special that they made deals with violent criminals and put their entire school at risk. Have fun."

They turned to leave when Hawthorne let out a frustrated howl and charged straight towards Sue. Lana didn't even get a chance to punch her off before she stopped and crashed like she hit an invisible wall. Sue looked just as surprised as Hawthorne did but she immediately scowled to hide it, "You got off easy!" Sue growled. Parts of her body were flickering in and out again, "Because of you two I hurt my friends! Don't try anything else or I'll make sure you both regret it."

Sue slammed the door open, uncaring of the fact that she wasn't wholly visible just yet. The milling students gawked and took pictures but the three of them paid it no mind. They had more important things to worry about.

"Did you mean to hit her with a forcefield?" Lana asked when they were far enough away.

"No." Sue shook her head, "But I don't feel sorry for them. They're the reason for that whole mess last week."

"Guess so." Lana smirked, "Still, you surprised me back there. Remind me to never piss you off."

"H-Huh? Oh, that was..." And she was blushing again, "I'm sorry, I was just...I was angry at them both. It was bad enough that they're the reason I hurt you all but the way they acted, treating you and Aracely like you were beneath them and looking at me like their ticket to internet fame. It was..."

"You were very mad," Aracely said, swinging her arms without a care, "It was surprising. Usually your thoughts are very sweet. Except when they're about Gabe, then they become like the porn movies Lana doesn't want me watching."

"Wh-What?!" Sue _squeaked_

"Hah!" Lana laughed.

"You promised not to read our minds anymore!"

"I don't. That was before Lana told me not to do that."

"Geez, Sue, how pent up were you?" She snickered at the blonde's stuttering excuses and looked back at her phone. Cindy was ready, "Alright, I gotta go. If we're lucky Diamondback will be there and I can pay her back for that shotgun to the head. Wish me luck!"

* * *

**Izaan: **New chapter for my fic **Spider's Parlor** is out!

**reply from Captain Insane: **Aw yes, I was waiting for this!

**reply from ****Lovin_ Anime: **What's it about?

**reply from Captain Insane: **It's a **Spider-Man** and **Spider-Woman** fic with a domination bend. It's pretty OOC for Spider-Woman to be so domineering but the writing is really good and the smut scenes are really hot.

**reply from Grand-Knight GG: **Yeah. I really liked the scene when Spider-Woman told him he was her pet. You could really feel his rebellion breaking right at that moment.

**reply from Just Steven: **I love how everyone just agrees that Spider-Man is the bottom for every pairing. **Punisher**, **Spinerette, Scarlet Spider**, **Daredevil**, **Moon Knight**...doesn't matter who it is, he's gonna be bottom.

**reply from Synli: **Not always. Spider and **Striker **pairings tend to be really equal or have him in a mentor role.

**reply from Spinerette: **Aaaannnddd that's enough internet for today.

* * *

**Half in half chapter. Noir and the rest of the Defenders are in prison while Lana (mostly Sue, though) made some more leeway on the fake modified Terrigen mist going around. **

**Sorry if the group meeting at the beginning dragged on too long but I wanted to show more of the protags (plus Norah) being an actual, cohesive group of friends to fit the lighter tone. Despite them having their own stories I wanna give a feel that they have each other's backs and can rely on one another if shit ever hit the fan. **

**Oh, and Bullseye's in prison too, so that should be fun. Originally I planned for Matt to fight him while Noir tangled with Murakami but I might switch it around since people seemed more interested in Noir leading the conflict against Bullseye rather than Matt.**

**Questions:**

**1\. So we have to options for the next chapter: focus on the prison from Noir and (for the first time) Echo's POV's or we stay outside and focus on Cindy and Gwen doing police and hero stuff. Which do you guys prefer?**

**2\. Do you guys mind that Gwen hasn't really done much classic hero work recently? Compared to V1 she doesn't really get much action compared to the other leads, particularly Noir, Cindy and Mary Jane. While it fits somewhat given that her main baddie is a Mastermind type people could find it boring.**

**I had a planned arc for Gwen dealing with Morbius in her college campus with Wasp and/or Jessica as allies. I cut it out of V1 for space but would you guys want to see it so we can get some actual Spider-Gwen doing hero stuff chapter?**

**3\. More a side thing, but do you guys wanna see the comic-con chapter or do I just have them do it off-screen? It could be good as a breather to have the cast relax as a group and maybe even fight a filler villain with a comic book them to contrast the darker segments most of them have.**

**Review Answers:**

**Ranchod das chanchad - Felicia and MJ? I guess she's been the choice for a lot of other readers too. And no, it was unintentional. I haven't been paying attention to the Snyder Cut thing. And yeah, Lana's dad not being punished is annoying but sometimes that's just how life works.**

**roxasdualwielder: He does have them.**

**Brave2000: Maybe? It's a Maximum Security prison so you're not gonna find many accidental prisoners. Maybe a petty criminal who just happens to have powers get sent in out of paranoia?**

**rc48177 - She already is working on herself. She's accepted that she's a serial killer vigilante and seems mostly cool with it. **

**That Geeky Guy - Similar backgrounds? Last I checked Scott didn't lose ten years of her life in a bunker :P As for Peter and Gwen fluff after the Hand arc...they're probably the last or second to last of the arc villains to be stopped, so you'll be waiting a _while_ if you want to hold off on fluff till then. **

**TheChefSHIPWRECK-5897 - To be fair it fits Roxxon.**

**Time-Space lord eon - I based Frog-Man on wannabe youtubers and influencers who think they can be famous for doing nothing. Annoying? Yes, but you see hundreds of his type. I plan for him to interact with Mary Jane so maybe she can shape him up. **


	46. Extra 3 - Spinoirette

**So at the suggestion/request of Agent Orange I decided to make a Cindy omake. I know a lot of people were expecting an actual update but maybe this'll be a good treat for him and the rest of the Noir/Cindy shippers. Apparently AO and a bunch of you guys thought that not only did these two have good chemistry but they had even better shippy segments than Noir/Gwen. **

**...And now I realized that, despite my best efforts, Noir kinda feels like a harem lead now. Fuck. **

**Anyway, this is a Cindy romance chapter starting from an alternate V2. The main difference is that in this omake Noir and Gwen either never got together or successfully broke up in V1, meaning neither Noir or Cindy are paired with anyone by the time the chapter starts. **

**Hope you guys like it. Unlike Lana's which was dramatic and filled with more overt romance this is a lighter transition with them going from best friends to lovers with some light angst in-between. **

* * *

It all started with that one invitation.

"So how was your world wide tour?" Cindy took a small sip of her coffee and leaned back on the cafe seat. The place was warm and cozy in a way the more hip (people still said that, right?) places in the city weren't. The shop was a small, out of the way place; perfect for a reunion between old friends. She was glad she found it a couple of months ago.

"Not as fun as you'd think." Peter smirked slightly and drank his own blend of dark caffeine. Gross, "Didn't have much time to go sightseeing. Seems like wherever I went trouble followed." Yeah, she definitely remembered the stories. Tangling with some mobsters over in Russia, a Hand-aligned model he had to fight during one of her performances, _France_. Seemed like he really had a crappy go of it.

It was nice seeing him again like this. They didn't really have time for long goodbyes before he left and after that it was scattered text messages and calls to everyone just to let them (mostly Gwen) know he wasn't dead just yet. Personally she had her doubts on the whole thing. While she wasn't exactly one for staying in one place cause insert bunker excuse here the thought of leaving to go cross country like an old D&D adventurer never seemed practical. Like those college grads who went backpacking through Europe to find themselves.

"Hey, you were the one who decided he needed to see more of the world." He laughed under his breath while she smiled into her coffee, "Sorry I couldn't meet you when you came back. I've been swamped with cases..."

"I heard. Gotta admit, I'd expect Gwen to go cop before you did."

"Yeah, well...they needed help." A _lot_ of help. Cops were trained to take down guys with guns, not supervillains bouncing around with glue grenades and boomerangs, "It's more of a loan thing anyway. I don't really feel like a cop, especially considering my best friend is." They both smirked at that. Even a year after he left the city the cops were still wary of him. Spider-Man, the guy who helped save the city three times and stubbornly refused to join the Initiative. It made him an unknown variable.

"They're lucky they have you, Cin. Seems like this city's getting more and more insane by the day."

"Tell me about it..." She set down her half-empty cup, fingers drumming against the side, "So where you living now that you're back?" It was an abrupt change in topic but she was curious. He couldn't exactly live with Lana anymore now that she was in that fancy school (or prison, as Lana called it) and she didn't much like the idea of him going to some run down tenement so they wouldn't ask for I.D.

"Moon Knight loaned me one of his safehouses for now. Gwen offered to let me stay with her and Mary but I said no. Didn't wanna feel like a third wheel." Well, she couldn't blame him for that. Gwen and Mary Jane weren't exactly subtle about the two of them dating and she knew what it was like dealing with being the odd man out. Cindy was mostly curious on how it worked considering Mary Jane's pet monster didn't exactly like Gwen.

The next words that came were automatic, "Why not stay with me?" Peter stopped his cup mid-raise and quirked his brow slightly, "My place is pretty big and I have enough room. Makes sense, right?" She shrugged casually.

"Sure that's a good idea? I don't want you to get in trouble with your new police buddies."

"They're not my 'buddies'. The only one I really talk to is Jean, and she doesn't have a leg to stand on." First Frank Castle and now her. At this point she was expecting half the force to be secret vigilantes, "Besides, they don't know where I live. Anyone tries to look me up and they'll find my address is owned by an old Chinese lady living in Denver." One of the benefits of S.H.I.E.L.D's 'retirement' package.

"Hm..." He set the cup on the table and looked down at the murky black liquid, "You sure about this? You know I'm fighting the Hand. Don't want you getting tangled up with them."

"You do realize that we're all dealing with Supervill crap, right? A bunch of ninjas isn't the most insane I've dealt with." She snorted. Call her dumb, but the old wannabe-Illuminati was kinda lame next to H.Y.D.R.A and _aliens_, "Don't worry about me. So, what do you say?"

"Can't really think of a reason to say no. Lead the way, Cin."

It didn't take them long to get back home. Cindy input the code and opened the door with a slight grin, "Welcome to case de Moon, Pete." She made a grand gesture and he laughed under his breath as he passed by her, "Make yourself at home. I've got like three guest rooms." Along with two bathrooms, a terrace and a well-stocked wine cooler. She really liked the last addition.

S.H.I.E.L.D was generous, but she knew better than to think it didn't come with strings attached. At some point, she just wasn't sure when, something big was gonna happen and they'd come back to save the day. Then the public would be quick to forget all about the Carnage incident till they inevitably did something else to fuck everything up. That was how it always went.

The big place was just something they could hold over her head so they could string her back. Till then she was willing to take advantage.

"Oh, hold on." He watched with furrowed brows as she dug through the couch cushions and pulled out a small, lightly beeping device, "Better luck next time, Daisy!" she shouted to the bug before crushing it.

"Spooks keeping track of you, huh?"

"It's just a formality. Pretty sure Daisy's just having fun at this point." Most people would've been more bothered with their friends(?) spying on them. Most people didn't live in a bunker for 10 years with recordings explaining why it was better for everyone they died alone, "Don't worry, it's nothing serious. If you don't like it you can wreck them yourself. Spider-sense should warn you.

"I'm already wondering if I should stay here..."

"They wouldn't be stupid enough to grab you. Not if they don't want me, Gwen and Lana on their asses." She snorted. It was the truth. S.H.I.E.L.D was a lot of things but intentionally suicidal wasn't one of them. Pissing off two of the Avengers and the city's top Initiative graduate wouldn't end well for them even if they did win that fight, "Now go on and get settled in. There's some spare clothes in the dressers. I'll cook us something."

"Shouldn't I do that?"

"We can split up chores later, 'kay? Just let me be a good host."

Peter mumbled a thank you and she made her way to the kitchen. The fridge was well-stocked with fresh food; something she could take full credit for. She made do with canned stuff for those ten years and she was pretty damn sure she was sick of it now, "Spaghetti should be good..." She started cooking up the sauce and grounding the beef. Nothing fancy, but it'd get the job done.

Peter came back later dressed in a baggy black sweatshirt and track pants. It looked weird on him, "Hey, Pete. Mind setting the plates?" She tasted a bit of the sauce and hummed. Needed more sweetener.

"Didn't find anymore bugs," he said as he put down the plates. She hummed again and didn't look back, "...This place is pretty big."

"Daisy stays over sometimes, but it's usually just me." She did her best to add a little more personal touch to it even outside of her room. A few posters here, some pokemon (she was _not_ gonna call it beast balls) plushies there. Still, it did feel a little too...artificial sometimes. Maybe him being here would change that, "You can stay over as long as you need. Just make sure not to bleed all over the carpet."

"I'll do my best." He helped her with the food and, soon enough, they were sitting across from each other and digging in. It was...nice. Most days she was alone and the few times Daisy came over she usually just stayed to steal some beer before leaving. Even the occasional one night stand usually didn't stay for breakfast, which was just fine with her. No sense in getting attached to someone she only wanted one night with.

"Thanks. I really do appreciate it." He smiled, stirring the spaghetti listlessly. He had this weird thing with not eating that Gwen was still trying to fix, "I'll find a way to pay you back till I can find a place of my own."

"Knew you'd say that." She rolled her eyes, "You don't owe me anything, Pete. And I mean I'll literally throw any money you give me off the balcony."

"I don't wanna be a freeloader."

"It's not freeloading if I'm offering." She took a bite and pointed her fork at him, "Seriously, it's cool, but if you really wanna pay me back then just help me out on some of my cases." S.H.I.E.L.D gave her some training, but he still blew her and Gwen out of the water when it came to actual investigating, "We'll keep it on the down low so no one else in the station throws a tantrum."

"Fair enough." He shrugged and went back to his food.

They finished their food and turned in early, "Night, Pete."

"You too, Cin. See you tomorrow."

"Sure. Oh, and don't be afraid to knock if you have a nightmare." He rolled his eyes and made a vulgar gesture (rude) before they went their separate ways. Her room was the only part of this place that really felt like home. Apart from the aforementioned posters and plushies she'd set up her old consoles on the right corner. It was neat with all the clothes folded folded and arranged and her books and manga tucked into neat little genres over by the bookshelf.

Gwen told her it looked too clean. Considering she was the one who used her bookcase to hold everything but books she didn't let it faze her.

She changed into a baggy shirt and some shorts and crawled into the bed before loading up some nature noises on her phone. Back in the bunker it was quiet and for those first few days she spent outside the noise always bothered her. The apartment was high enough that it was cut off from the noises outside and it reminded her far too much of her old home- _prison_.

Cindy drifted off to a mercifully dreamless sleep.

* * *

It didn't take them long to split up the chores. Cindy cooked on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays while Peter took Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Sunday would depend on 'who looks the less fucked up at the end of the week', to use her words one drunken night. It was actually nice having a roommate. Even if Pete was quiet he made the place feel less lonely just by being there.

"How was work?" he asked one night as she was coming back. It was Saturday, so it was her turn to cook. Cindy grunted and shucked off her shoes and jacket before collapsing on the couch, "That bad, huh?"

"You have no idea." She turned around till she was lying on her back and facing the ceiling, "New case came up about this gang holding up stores over on Midtown. And of course since they're wearing Halloween masks they put it on my desk." She blew a stray tuft of hair out of her eyes in frustration. Just cause they wore masks didn't mean she had to deal with it!

"Doesn't seem like that big a deal."

"It wouldn't be if the witnesses just cooperated." She waved a hand through the air lazily, "Half of them actually wanted to get their stuff back, but the other half are just guys working minimum wage at the counter so they barely gave a shit. A bunch of them kept trying to ask for autographs and take selfies and there was one guy who wanted to be an asshole and blamed all us 'freaks' for what happened to his stupid dollar dog."

"Price of fame, Cin. That's why I wasn't too keen on joining that government sponsored freakshow."

"Gee, thanks." She snorted.

He let the stew simmer and made his way to the couch, "Turn around." She did it without question and was only slightly surprised when he straddled her back and started massaging, "Tell me if the pressure's right."

"It's good." She made a thumbs up gesture and relaxed into the pillow, "Didn't know you could do that..." Not that she was complaining. Last time she had a massage was over a decade ago.

"I don't." He hit a sweet spot between her shoulders and she bit her lip to keep from making it awkward, "Stick trained me to look for pressure points and muscles. Mostly just trying to apply that to this."

"Well I'd say it's working." She smiled and closed her eyes. So far he was more than paying his worth, "What about you? Anything new with your ninja Illuminati besides Murdock coming back to go hero?" Apparently Page even wanted him and Peter to room together. Yeah, fat chance of that happening any time soon. She was lucky Peter didn't kill him. Hell, she was lucky none of the rest of them killed him too. Gwen might've just dumped him in jail but she and Lana would've been willing to blow his head off after everything he did.

"Nothing so far. Don't count on that lasting long, though."

He finished up the massage and they had their dinner. There was an unofficial rule between them both not to talk business while they were eating. They talked about anything that came to mind - video games (she was slowly coaxing him to try them), the things they did when they weren't fighting for their lives; anything that came to mind, really. It was nice. Most of the time the only company she had was her webflicks account on loop.

And it wasn't weird. They were best friends who were also roommates, no big deal. It wasn't like she had the same face as the bitch who tortured him or she was technically a cop who shouldn't have been hanging around him.

"What are your plans after?" she asked suddenly. Peter looked up at her questioningly, "After you beat the ninjas, I mean."

"Thought we didn't talk about that kind of stuff?"

"I'm not, I'm talking about what comes after." She smirked at his tired sigh. He was too easy sometimes, "Seriously, though, you figured out what you're gonna be doing? I mean the Hand isn't gonna be around forever."

"I...don't know," he said eventually, "Wasn't really thinking about it. After I woke up in that alley it's just been one clown after another. My guess? Won't have to wait long for the next psychopath to try something. This city's got more than enough to spare." She couldn't disagree there. She didn't know if it was the Initiative making them bolder or just an inevitability but there were definitely more supervills running around.

"Why not try the P.I gig? Getting a license shouldn't be too hard considering Kate got one even after her identity got exposed. You're good at that stuff and it wouldn't even be weird if you started monologuing about dames and matchbooks."

"...You know I don't actually do that, right?"

"I see you smoldering in front of the mirror sometimes, you can't fool me!" He rolled his eyes and sighed again while she cackled. The rest of the night was spent on lighter topics and Cindy went to bed feeling better than before.

It wasn't weird at all.

* * *

Lana made it weird.

"So what's up with you and Pete?" Cindy looked up from her food at the girl sitting across from her. The both of them had one of their rare free days so she figured it was as good a chance as any to hang out.

She slurped up her spaghetti and wiped her face, "What do you mean?" Cindy asked. She and Peter had lived together for over a month now and so far it was going good. He stopped looking for a new place a couple of weeks in once he realized how much more convenient rooming together was. The Hand were a lot more hesitant to attack the place of someone who had a direct connection to the Avengers.

"I mean the whole roommate thing." Lana waved her stick of garlic bread, ignoring the way a few of the other patrons not-so discreetly took pictures of Striker in her school uniform. Cindy already revealed her identity earlier so if people didn't know who she was yet they would soon, "Gotta admit I was surprised when you told us you two were staying together. Thought for sure he'd be with Spider-Woman."

"He didn't wanna be a third wheel."

"What, with her and Scarlet? I'm sure they would've let him in if he asked." Uh...she wasn't talking about staying at the apartment, was she? "I'm just saying you two seem like you're getting close. He's helping you with your investigations, giving you massages..."

Cindy almost choked on her pasta, "Y-You know about that?"

"Yeah. He mentioned it off-hand." Ugh, he really needed to talk to him about that. For someone who was so paranoid he had a bad habit of spilling when it came to Lana, "I'm just wondering if there's something going on there."

"What's there to ask? We're roommates." Lana raised a brow, a distinctly 'I don't fucking believe you' expression, "Hey, you two were roommates last year and you don't see me pointing dirty fingers."

"I mean I _tried_, but he pulled the 'oh you're too young and like a sister' to me bullshit." She rolled her eyes and set her cup of soda down, "Besides, he wasn't giving _me _massages."

"The only one making it weird is you." She rolled her eyes back and focused back on her spaghetti, "Look, the two of us? We're friends. We've been through some shit and that means we don't have to walk on eggshells around each other." He was close to Gwen and Lana too, but neither of them understood what it was like being trapped in her evil twin's torture chamber. That and Gwen still had issues with how he did things, something she never had a problem with.

"I'm just saying I've seen the way you two are acting. If you two end up together could you do it next month? I've got a bet with Norah going that it'll take you two a while to get started."

"Sure, I'll be sure to tell you when the baby comes too." Cindy scoffed. Her and Pete together...yeah, that'd be the day.

* * *

"You know you're an idiot, right?"

"It's been known to come up." His wry smirk disappeared as soon as she stabbed the needle into his skin. He was injured, the most noticeable one being the slash across his back that she'd just cleaned up. Apparently it was one of those magic bs swords that made sure he couldn't just sleep and heal up like an old RPG character. Apparently the Hand wanted to fight him through attrition, if what Pete said was true.

Right now she was patching him up. His shirt was off and he sat with his back to her, pale back lined with cuts and discolored skin. Reminded her of a year ago when they went after that Ogre prick.

"Do I even wanna know what you were doing?" She was used to patching herself up so the sight of the blood red skin didn't bother her anymore. Besides, it wasn't the first time she had to sew him up.

"Got baited. Bright side I managed to take down one of their conversion centers."

"And all it took was getting slashed by the cursed blade of null regen." He looked confused at that. She really needed to get him to play more games, "Nevermind. Point is, you gotta be more careful. Won't always be here to watch your back, you know."

"Why? You going somewhere?"

"What? No, it's...it's just something my mom used to say." Felt stupid saying it now that she thought about it. She wasn't going anywhere and neither was Pete. Of course the chances of them dying in a fight wasn't exactly _rare_ but she didn't wanna think about that right now, "Just make sure you avoid getting cut up again, alright? Don't need Gwen on either of our asses if you get laid up."

"She's not that bad." Cindy gave him a flat look that he could feel even while he looked away, "...Alright, she can be...excessive sometimes, but I think she's more worried about Mary than she is with me nowadays."

"How're they doing, by the way? I heard the two of them had an argument."

"It's been...going." Great. Hopefully she didn't have to play peacekeeper again. While Pete was gone she was the one who had to be the go-between whenever they had one of their moments. Once he came back he was taking up the slack, "I'm sure they'll be fine. Gwen hasn't killed me yet so I'm sure she and Mary'll make up sooner rather than later."

"Hope you're right." She cut the thread with her teeth and looked down at her handiwork. Wasn't professional or anything, but it got the job done. She took up sewing while she was trapped. Clothes got holes in them sometimes even when she was careful and it wasn't like she could get any new ones delivered. She never figured she'd switch from sewing up t-shirts to her friends.

"You done?"

"Yeah, the rest of em don't need stitches. Turn around and I'll see if you have any more."

It wasn't the first time she'd seen Peter shirtless, but Lana's words suddenly weighed in on her when she saw his bare chest, "Let's see here..." She gulped and ignored the little voice (Lana...) at the back of her head telling her to linger. He wasn't bad looking by any means, but it was Peter. Her best friend, the one person who knew what it was like to feel like a stranger in this place.

Who cared if he had abs and muscles that must've been rock hard? Not her.

"Uh...just a couple of bruises, nothing unusual." She coughed and backed away. Bad thoughts, bad thoughts that definitely had no place here, "Just make sure to take it easy for a couple of days, okay?"

"Not a problem." He put his shirt back on, much to her disapp- _relief_, "Could we skip dinner for now? I'm not really feeling hungry right now."

Well, apparently _she_ was really thirsty, "Sure, no prob." She shrugged with forced casualness, "I gotta go to work early tomorrow anyway." Another Lantern gang sighting. She'd make sure to keep it as far away from Peter as possible for both their sakes, "Just holler if you need anything."

"Same. Night, Cin."

He walked back to his room and let herself collapse on the couch. What the hell was _that_? Was she really...no, no, she was just pent up, that's all. Ever since she exposed her identity getting a date was a nightmare. Sure there were a lot of takers, but way too many of them were creeps who just wanted to brag that they got it into one of the Avengers. It was a problem Kate had too when she tried the online dating gig.

Shaking her head, she pulled out her phone and checked her profile. About a dozen people who swiped right for her. Should she bite the bullet and try it again?

Yes, she really should.

"...I need a date."

* * *

The date was a nightmare.

It started off fine. She matched up with a guy called Claude Morgan a few days ago and chatted with him on and off. He was 30 years old, had a younger sister (in the same school Lana was in, coincidentally enough) and he ran a non-profit animal shelter and clinic. He was perfect, or at least as close she could get in a site like Flint. If even half of the things he put in his profile was true then it was a match made in heaven.

Unfortunately he left out just one thing...

"Get back here, you damn bitch!"

He was a sexist asshole.

Cindy grit her teeth and ignored how annoying it was to walk in these heels. Ever since she showed up the guy was off. He wouldn't stop bragging to his friends about how he managed to 'bag' Spinerette and every time someone asked her something he'd interrupt and answer for her. She gave him the benefit of the doubt at first - he came from a well-off family so maybe he just needed to keep his reputation. She'd seen it before.

She even held it in when they had dinner and she cut her and every woman off every time they tried to talk. At that point she considered the date a wash and figured there was no point in making a scene. She'd eat the dinner, block him on the app and move on to the other guy after more careful investigation. Lesson learned and all that. Just another bad date in a pool full of them.

And then she overhead him talking about her to one of his friends when he thought she wasn't listening. How he lorded over them for managing to get an Avenger for a date and that he was going to dump 'that girl he was seeing' as soon as he managed to 'put it in her tonight'. He was dating someone else and he was just waiting to make sure she'd put out before he did anything.

So she splashed him in the face with their expensive wine and walked out.

"I said wait." He made to grab her shoulder. He didn't get a chance to before she turned, grabbed his wrist and pinned him against the wall. She was on the light side of tipsy so it was easy, "Agh, you fucking cu-"

"Did you forget that I'm an Avenger? I've fought a lot scarier than some rich asshole with an overinflated ego." She pushed up and he squeaked in pain. Pathetic, "I heard how you talked about me, Morgie. 'She'll be begging for it before the end of the night'? 'I'll dump that tramp Evelyn once I'm done with her'?" She sneered, "Never talk to me again, you hear me?"

"Y-You can't just-"

"Do. You. Hear. Me?" She inched his twisted arm up slowly. His squeaks got louder before he eventually shouted in the affirmative, "Good. Don't follow me." She shoved him off and went back home. It was the best she could do. As much as she hated it being a cheating, sexist jackass wasn't ground to being arrested. He could live it up to be a scumbag another day, just without her.

She trudged in to the apartment with her heels in her hands and her hair mussed up from the perfect updo. So much for that hour styling it, "Honey, I'm home!" she shouted with forced cheer. Peter was on the couch and didn't say anything as she tossed the heels aside and collapsed next to him. The body makeup was fading now and her numerous scars were becoming more obvious.

"Bad date?" He finally looked up from his book and gave her a sympathetic smile.

"You've got no idea." She scoffed, "Could you get us some wine? The Chardonnay should be good."

"Bit late for happy hour, isn't it?" He gestured to the clock that told them it was 11:07 pm.

"Says the guy who decides smoking laws don't apply to him."

He got the wine and, after however much time later, she was on her fifth glass of wine. Peter abstained and made do with some whiskey he got from his own personal cooler instead - one of the things he bought to make himself more at home.

"Tell me about it?" he asked. His face was slightly red, but apart from that she couldn't tell he was drinking at all.

"Just another prick." She sighed and downed the fifth glass. She'd already drunk in the party and it was really catching up to her, "I got suckered. Fell for the 'oh, he takes care of animals!' bs on his profile. Turns out he's just another guy who thought bagging Spinerette would make his wiener feel longer than it is." Least she didn't sleep with him. She would've needed a shower afterwards.

On the not so bright side it didn't help her little 'pent-up' problem.

"I hate to say I told you so, but..." She threw him a weak scowl and he shrugged, "What did you expect would happen once people found out who you were? You saw how they treated Lana." She grunted and didn't say anything. Back home the big heroes with the open identities were Iron Man, Hulk and The Fantastic 4. Tony Stark was already a fugitive, Bruce Banner was a fugitive on the run and the F4...well, two of them were married to the other, one a rock dude and Johnny Storm was competing with Stark on whose book was filled first.

The Spider-Man back home kept his identity secret too.

"Maybe I should give up on the dating thing," she mumbled. So far she hadn't had any luck. Maybe she'd just be one of those old ladies with a dozen cats. She could probably get a couple from Felicia.

"On the bright side you won't be alone there." He finished off his own glass of whiskey and lied back, staring up at the ceiling, "I'm not exactly a paragon of dating myself so I can sympathize."

"Yeah..." She smiled crookedly, "You know, I thought you and Gwen would've..."

"Maybe, but there's too much..." He stopped, trying to find the right words, "Too much history there," he said eventually. She hummed and poured herself another glass, "We've moved on from our fights before, but it's just...she still remembers her best friend. Peter Parker, the guy who followed after her like a puppy, played D&D with her, cheered her on every time she played in that band of hers. I'm sure we could've worked it out, but I'm happy for her and Mary. They're good together."

"Yeah..." She took a sip of the white wine and closed her eyes, "Hey, I've got an idea. If neither of us find anyone in like 10 years we marry each other. It'll be just like that Julia Roberts movie!" Except she would go psycho and try to break him up if she did find someone. She wasn't _that _desperate.

"Marriage, huh?" He swirled the whiskey in the bottle then laughed, "Sure, why not? Can't be any worse than dying alone."

"Flatterer." She snorted and finished off her sixth...or was it seventh? Her whatever number it was cup of wine. Whatever, she could use another.

* * *

Cindy woke up with a raging hangover.

"Ugh..." She opened her eyes slowly before shutting her eyes again when the morning sun peeked through the curtains, "Shit..." She turned to the side and snuggled into the covers. She was very likely late for work, but she didn't care too much. Technically speaking she was only supposed to be on-call for cases. She was the one who decided to try and play the Spider-Cop thing to the hilt.

What the hell happened last night? Last thing she remembered was getting another cup and then... "Mmh..." Forcing her eyes to open, she was met with the sight of a black bra hanging off the nearby desk.

It wasn't an unfamiliar sight, but the fact that she hadn't come back with a date last night narrowed things down to an uncomfortable answer.

"Oh no..." She forced herself up on her side and turned to look back. There was Peter, sleeping with his back to her. His arms and chest were bare, "Oh shit...!" She raised the blanket and cringed. Yep, she was naked. So was he. She ignored the urge to stare at his butt and swung her legs over to the side quietly, "Shit, shit, shit...!" She hissed. How drunk was she last night?!

She had to leave, make sure he never realized what happened. She grabbed her bra and put it on quickly followed by the rest of her underwear. She grabbed the discarded dress on the floor and slowly made her way to the door. Just make breakfast and pretend that-

"...You know I can hear you, right?" Cindy froze, hand stuck on the knob as she heard a shuffling behind her. She was _not_ gonna look back, "One thing about the Spider-God's gifts is that you hear things even if you try not to." She heard him walking around behind her. Changing back?

"Pete..." She took a deep breath and turned around. He was fully dressed now, which only made her feel worse in her undies, "I...look, what happened last night."

"You don't have to say anything," he said. His cheeks were slightly red but apart from that he looked calm as could be, "We were both drunk and you just had a bad date. Alright?"

"I'm just saying, if I forced you into anything-"

"As if you could do that." He scoffed, like the very idea that she could make him do something was stupid in and of itself, "It takes two to tango, Cin. You didn't _force_ me into anything."

"I...thanks for saying so." She rubbed her mussed up hair and didn't say anything else. Peter did the same, making sure to look away. Sometimes, whenever she took someone back who didn't know about her scars, she saw the look of repulsion in their eyes when they saw it. He didn't have any of that. He was just trying to be respectful, "Uh...you got a shirt I could change into?"

"Huh? Oh, sure." He handed her an oversized sweater and a pair of pants. She could've been imagining it but she swore he looked at her back when she changed, "...What are your plans today?"

"What day is it?" She picked up her phone, "Oh, it's Sunday. I gotta go see Laura." After she took a hot shower to wash the smell off.

"I'm still waiting on Murdock so I guess I'll go over to Gwen's."

"Right..." She bit her lower lip and self-consciously touched the edge of the sweater, "So...you won't tell the others, right? I-I mean I'm sure they won't have a freak out or anything but...let's just keep it a secret, okay?"

"Sure, no problem." He smiled slightly, "Come on, let's get something to eat."

The shower didn't work.

Laura sniffed the air as soon as she arrived to pick her up, "Uh..." Cindy stood uncomfortably as the little girl turned her and she smiled. Not good, "H-Hey, kiddo. What's up?"

"You were joined with Uncle Peter last night." If it was any other time she would've found it cute she considered Peter an uncle. Right now she just cringed, "I would've liked if you went with daddy instead but this is fine too."

"What? No, no. Laura, sweetie, we aren't..." She paused. How exactly could she explain the concept of one night stands to a little girl? Sure said little girl had a body count in the double digits but that didn't stop it from feeling weird, "It was...we aren't _together_ like that."

"But you two have had se-"

"Shh!" Thank God Shadowcat wasn't here. She'd find some way to make fun of her for it, "Yes, we did, but..." She sighed, "It's kind of hard to explain. The point is we're not together, okay? We're just friends."

"Oh..." Laura's pout almost made her take it back. Almost, "A shame. I was hoping for brothers and sisters."

"...What?"

"You are my mother so any children you give birth to will be my siblings," she said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Cindy just gaped at her, "I would've liked to have 9. 4 brothers, 4 sisters and the last one could be either."

"_Nine_ kids? Even if we were together you're kinda reaching there!"

"Am I? I do not think so." And before Cindy could say anything to that the little girl took up her right side and held her hand, "Come, let us go out now. You are late."

"Yeah, yeah..."

* * *

Cindy had another nightmare.

She didn't get nightmares a lot. She got them sometimes in the bunker. Nightmares about her family dying that week before she got trapped, or her finally leaving the bunker only to get eaten by that Morlun bastard like Ezekiel always told her.

Ever since she got out the nightmares were different. Now she dreamed of being trapped. Trapped in the bunker again and dying alone,trapped by her evil twin and being experimented on till she died. Always trapped, and it always ended with her in tears. She never screamed - or if she did then Daisy never mentioned it - but the tears were always there.

"Damn it..." She wiped away the tears and stood up. The clock told her it was 4 in the morning and at this point she figured she wasn't gonna get any more sleep. She ignored the way her heart raced and made her way to the kitchen to brew some chamomile tea. Wasn't her favorite, but it was the best at getting her to calm down. She couldn't let the others see her like.

She was just steaming up the water when she heard the footsteps behind her, "Up already, Pete?" She looked back with crossed arms. He was dressed in only a pair of baggy pants and socks. Suddenly her heart was beating quick again, "...Did I wake you up?"

"I heard footsteps." She'd take that as a yes. He looked her in the eyes, "...Are you okay?"

"...Just bad dreams." She turned back around and put her hands at the edge of the island. She didn't like anyone seeing her like this. Around the others she always tried to look in control, like nothing could faze her.

He took up her left side and put a hand on top of hers, "Talk to me."

"...It's nothing-"

"I know that's not true." She winced. Blunt as always, "We all have bad dreams. Gwen thinks about that night at prom, Lana remembers her mom getting shot in front of her and Mary..." He trailed off. Yeah, she could figure out what she dreamed about, "I do too."

"...What are yours like?" she asked softly.

"I dream I'm the Lizard and that Gwen's...beating me to death." She pursed her lips and closed her eyes, "I dreamed it every night before Moon told me who I was."

"Is that why you don't like sleeping?"

"Yeah." The tea maker beeped. Neither of them moved to get the cup, "...You?"

"Dreamed I was back in the bunker again." She felt the tears threatening to spill out again and quickly suppressed them, "I know I always joke about it, but...I lost ten years there, Pete. I thought I was going to _die_ in there." No family and no friends to mourn her, "Sometimes I still think that this is all just a dream. That the second I'm not expecting it I'll wake up back in the bunker. Alone."

She had dreams like those sometimes. Back then she dreamed that one day she'd open the bunker and reunite with her miraculously alive family. They'd spend weeks just trying to catch up and then, just when it seemed like everything was right in the world, she'd wake up back in the walls of her prison.

The first time it happened she screamed and cried and punched the wall so hard that her fists bled. It was cruel, dangling that hope in front of her only to toss it all away. Her family was still dead and she was still trapped in that hole in the ground.

Pete's voice knocked her out of her depressing thoughts, "Hey." She looked at him and he tightened his hold on her hand, "You're not alone, alright? I'm...we're all here. That old bastard Ezekiel tries to put down under again we'll kick his teeth in."

"What if he told you an invincible vampire would kill you if you didn't?" she asked back with a wry smile.

"Then we'll fight. Even if no one else decides to I'll do it. I owe you my life, Cin. Without you I'd still be down there in that...goddamn butcher shop." They never talked about what happened to them or the fact that she had the exact same face of the woman who tortured him for God only knew how long. He never treated her as anything but Spinerette.

"Yeah..." She licked her lips and, before she could stop herself, leaned forward and kissed him. It was brief and she quickly regained her bearings, "Shit, I'm sorry! I was just, I don't know what-"

He grabbed the back of her head and kissed her again. It was different from hers. Less uncertain, more...hungry. Tea forgotten, Cindy wrapped her arms around his shoulders and returned the gesture. This was wrong, the rational part of her mind said, he was her best friend.

Eventually the voice (and their desire to breath) won out and they separated with a loud pop. Cindy panted, her face flush and her legs shaky. She rarely ever actually kissed anyone nowadays. Most of the time it was straight to bed or if they did kiss it was quick lead up to what came after. This felt different. She felt lightheaded and there was a fluttering in her chest. The last time she'd felt that was when Hector gave her their anniversary present.

...Did that mean?

"We need to stop this." She forced herself to separate from him.

She expected him to agree. Instead he just looked hurt, "Why? Did I do something?"

"No, no! It's just..." She bit her lip and looked down at the floor, "You're my best friend, Pete. And I...what if we fuck this up? You've seen my luck with dating! I don't...if something bad happens then I don't wanna lose you." After she broke up with Hector they tried to stay friends. It didn't work. There was too much there for them to pretend everything could be okay.

"Do you really think we couldn't survive that?" She didn't answer, "Cin...you saved me. You didn't owe me anything and you spent months getting mangled because of it." He traced two fingers through a nasty scar on her upper arm and she shuddered, "Even after that you kept helping me. Jack, Madripoor and Octavius...I owe you too much. Trust me, no matter what happens you aren't getting rid of me that easily."

"...You sure?" She hated how small she sounded.

"I promise."

"...Alright then. I guess we can try."

* * *

Going out with Pete was...good. Actually it wasn't that different from how they were already. They still split the chores and they still gave each other shit. The only difference was what they did at night. Some people would've found it odd, maybe a sign that the relationship wasn't meant to be, but she found it comforting. She wasn't looking for grand romantic gestures or any of that other crap. She just needed end the day with someone and be sure they'd still be there the next day.

"Maybe I should fix up these scars," she said one night when they were in bed together. Peter didn't say anything as she raised up her hand and twisted, exposing the pale marks on her wrist. She didn't mind the scars usually but she had to admit they stuck out.

"Why?"

"I dunno. Don't they look ugly?"

"You'll always look beautiful to me, Cin."

"Pfft, that's super cheesy, dude. And maybe tell me that when you aren't looking at my boobs." She lightly bonked the side of his head and moved back so they could spoon. Most of the time they slept together in her bed now. Easier that way.

"...We're telling them tomorrow, right?"

"Yep..." Cindy chewed on her lower lip nervously. They'd been going out for a couple of weeks now but they hadn't actually told anyone. It wasn't that she was ashamed of it - and anyone who said otherwise would get a smack right up the jaw - but it was...weird. Despite Lana and Laura's teasing she was pretty sure no one actually expected them to get together. They needed to be careful about this.

"We could keep it secret if you want?"

"No, I wanna tell them." She felt him smile into her neck. Sap, "I mean...you guys are the closest thing I have to family in this world. Sure there's my evil twin's family but there's this...awkwardness in the air. You all knew me before you knew Ms. Negative so I don't feel that with you all."

"Alright then. Guess we'll see tomorrow."

They gathered up the next day - her, Peter, Gwen, Mary Jane, Lana, Norah and Laura. It was one of their status meetings; the weekly thing Cindy suggested to make sure they were caught up on what everyone else was doing. She brought Laura along cause she needed to hear it too.

Lana finished off her report when Cindy spoke up, "Alright, now that the meeting's done there's actually something I have to say." She looked to Peter sitting next to her and he nodded encouragingly, "Okay, uh...I don't know how to say this, so I'll just tell you all straight out: me and Pete are going out together."

She expected stunned silence, maybe disbelief that it actually happened, but the first thing she heard was a snort that came from Gwen, "Uh...yeah?" The blonde asked. Cindy just gaped at her, "I mean, we know? Is this supposed to be news?"

"W-What?!"

"You two were pretty obvious," Mary Jane said with a smirk, "You two aren't nearly as stealthy as you think you are. We kinda figured it out...what, a week ago?"

"A week and a half," Norah said casually, "And of course that's something I can't go to the news about cause I'm such a good friend." Norah looked so smug at that, "But demand an interview! It'll look real good for the Front Line if I can snag an interview with one of the Avengers."

"...Lana?" She turned to the youngest one there. They kept it a secret from _someone_, right?

"Nope, figured it out too. You were all giggly when we had lunch a week ago." Was she? She didn't remember, "I gotta say, I expected him to end up with Spider-Gwen, but I guess it makes sense. You two've been through enough shit that I can see it. Only thing I'm kinda pissed about is the whole 'Oh, it's cool if I date someone ten years older than me, but two years younger?' That's way too young!' thing. Nice double standards there, Pete."

"It wasn't just the age, you know. You're-"

"Like a sister to you. Yeah, yeah." She waved a hand through the air flippantly, "Seriously, though, we're all happy for you both. We've all been through so much shit that we deserve whatever we can get."

"Yeah..." Cindy looked to Laura finally. She hadn't said anything but the bright smile on her face told a thousand words, "I...guess you were right, kiddo."

She didn't say anything. She just walked till she stood between them and looked at both of them in turn. And then, "I look forward to my nine siblings."

"...Nine?" Pete gave her a wary look.

"N-No, that's...that's just her being weird!" They talked about kids, if only casually. They both agreed it wasn't in the cards, at least for now. Their lives were so hectic that bringing a kid into it would've just been cruel.

He looked weirded out for a few more seconds before he started laughing softly. Cindy was shocked at the sudden shift before she and the rest joined him. God, this was _so_ weird. Dating Spider-Man - her best friend, now her boyfriend.

She never would've thought she'd end up here but it felt...right. She had no regrets.

* * *

**And done. Unlike Lana, which ended with them getting married and having a kid, this one is a more casual 'they're still dating and the adventure continues' kind of thing. **

**Up next is the Mary Jane/Gwen/Noir threesome chapter! ...Okay, not really. Wouldn't know what the chapter would be about. I _could_ make a Mary Jane/Noir oneshot diverging from the start of her Carnage arc but that'd be much more angsty with a more uncertain ending. Lemme know if that'd interest you guys. **

**Anyway, Noir not having POV's during the omakes really makes Noir look like one of those stock Shoujo manga heroines :/ If I ever make a Mary Jane oneshot it'd probably have alternating POV's so he doesn't just look like the designated woman's love interest. **

**Question:**

**1\. So what do you guys think of Noir and Cindy as a couple? AO told me that, from what he read, it felt like these two had the potential to be a couple due to their interactions and simply chose not to for one reason or another. This extends to the chapter itself since unlike Lana in her omake where she's more overt about her affections this is more of a transition from 'best friends' to 'best friends who sleep together'.**

**Review Answers:**

**Time-Space Lord Eon - Yeah...that's just Miguel. Cyberpunk tends to be mired with noir and Miguel is a very cynical, brooding character in his comics.**

**connor1504 - Guess you'll just have to see :)**

**Demon dark mezzo sangue - Ironically enough I never watched Dexter, though I know the general idea of it. Also never watched Code Geass either so the relationship to Silver is unintentional.**

**As for the prison arc...guess we'll see. **


	47. they're trapped in there with him

**Sorry for the delay. Enrollment's been wonky due to corona and I don't have much motivation. Doesn't help that reviews have trickled down, though that's understandable considering the story is dragging and RL circumstances. Hopefully it gets better soon :)**

**The second part of the prison arc. One more and we can get to the end. **

**BTW, I put up the finale vote again and it seems like Spider Island is catching up with 26 votes to Devil Breath's 29. **

* * *

**anon3415**: I'm using a throwaway cause I don't wanna be found out. Alright, so I need advice. I heard three of my classmates saying they were gonna try summoning a demon in a few days after school. Thought it was nothing but I definitely saw them buying stuff like candles and pentagrams on the mall. What do I do? A year ago I would've left them alone but I saw the **Times Square Demon** and heard stories about **Spider-Man** exorcising people and now I'm scared...

**reply from Joe B.: **First things first GTFO out of that school. Seriously, GTFO! I live in the apartment building where Spider-Man saved that girl and it wasn't pretty. She was crawling on the walls, hissing latin and shit.

**reply from OuTLAWon5: **Could you tell the school?

**reply from anon3415: **Worst thing that'll happen is that they get suspended then they can just go back home and do it there. I don't want them delayed, I want them to not summon a fucking demon at all!

**reply from Terrabreaker133: **So is there like a law against summoning demons? Any cops here who can give advice?

**reply from danielson654: **Cop here. Last I checked there's no actual law against that, at least not yet. Problem is narrowing it down. Not every person who uses youwebs videos to try and summon ghosts or demons will actually do it. We can't arrest people just for playing with ouija boards. There's thousands of kids doing it cause they don't know any better.

**reply from Spinerette: **Might not be the right person for this but I've hung around Pete enough to comment. According to him 99% of people who use ouija boards won't actually get possessed. You need to have strong connection to be used as a meatsuit. Most people will, at worst, get some creepy flickering lights.

**reply from anon3415: **Still, I really don't like this. Even if they get suspended and do it at home one of them could be 'special' and get possessed then the next thing you know the entire classroom's getting hit with poltergeist shit.

**reply from Spinerette: **Hm...gimme the name of your school in a PM, anon. I'll see if I can do something.

**reply from anon3415: **OMG thank you thank you!

* * *

Prison wasn't that difficult to get used to. Two meals a day, a (cold) shower and an hour of recreation 'outside' every three days. Boring, but in his line of work boring usually meant safe.

It helped that most of the prisoners knew not to tangle with him after the 'show' almost a week ago. Power plays were an everyday part of life in here and taking down Albino - apparently one Alberto DiLorenzo, known by the street name 'Fade' for being able to turn invisible - was enough for most of the other prisoners to give him a wide berth. Now they were sizing him up, trying to see if he was better to be part of their gang or getting shived in the lockers.

"Anything new on Murakami?" Peter asked softly. Murdock sat across from him, neither of them touching the slop on their plates. Processed meat, stale veggies and a stack of beans on the corner. He missed pizza with Gwen. He wondered what the rest of them were doing now. No contact in or out so far and he couldn't exactly ask the warden to make a phone call.

At least the two of them managed to get a table to themselves, thanks mostly to the other inmates giving him a wide berth. He didn't expect it to last long. Fear had a habit of dissipating in places like this if you didn't keep upping your stakes.

"Nothing much. From what I've gathered he's been keeping his head down and hasn't made any trouble. A real model prisoner, that one." Murdock smiled and looked him in the eyes. Even with the new face and contacts to mask his blindness Peter still found it odd to actually look the bastard in the eye, "Incidentally I've heard that Mr. Crest - or Benjamin Poindexter, as he's called now - is in here with us."

"I know..." Peter made a sideways glance to his old friend. He was eating and chatting with one of the other inmates - some poor bastard who had the luck to be colored _blue_, of all things - and smiling like all was right in the world.

Looking at him now, he hated to admit how much he wasn't different from how he knew him. It would've been easier if the Hand made him unrecognizable; at least then he wouldn't have been killing his friend. But no, they brought him back and the only thing they changed was what he considered acceptable targets. Was he always like that, he wondered, so close to the edge that it'd only take a little nudge for him to start brutalizing teenage girls just to hurt him.

"Your heart rate is picking up pace. I suggest you calm yourself."

"Don't worry about me. I'll deal with him when it's time..." Easier said than done, much as he hated to admit it. Without his powers he had some of Stick's training and the muscle mass he built up from his nighttime escapades. Good enough to carry him through any street brawl or a short gunfight, but fighting someone like Bullseye? He didn't like his chances. Even being a kid again would've been more convenient. Least then he still had his gifts.

"If you're certain. To change the topic, I've heard some rumors. Apparently someone's been hiring out fighters."

"What for?"

"Typical fight club. My guess? Murakami's using it to try and find the best to be used as the Hand's new soldiers. I doubt it's a coincidence that this iteration started not long after his incarceration" He leaned in closer with a grin, "We should get ourselves involved. Even assuming that it's unrelated improving our reputation can only help us."

"You seem like you're acclimating quick..."

"When in Rome." He leaned back and shrugged, "Even if that doesn't interest you the contraband they trade around should be appealing. I've heard that they're even trading in coffee and alcohol." Peter ignored Murdock's knowing look. Ever since he lost his powers coffee and whiskey tasted far better than before. After a week in this place it wasn't an exaggeration to say he'd kill for a cup of black joe.

"...How do we get in?"

"I expect that you'll be invited at some point considering the show you put on a few days prior. I believe you'll only have to wait."

He did get an invitation, but it was for a different kind of club. Peter stripped out of the red, short sleeved (better to avoid prisoners sneaking shivs somewhere) jumpsuit and stepped into the shower room. He kept his underwear on, mostly for the sake of having some kind of privacy. They were already watched 24/7 and he'd take whatever meager alone time he could get.

The shower was cold. Again he found himself missing the hot shower back at Gwen's apartment. It wasn't like he wasn't used to worse - it was nothing compared to baking Middle East foxholes and cold Siberian caves - but he'd gotten more complacent since he got back to the city. He was used to having something (and someone) to come back to at the end of the day.

His spider-sense blared softly. Peter eyed a rotund inmate - one Fred Dukes - whisper something to the guard that he couldn't make out. It was brief, but he definitely saw the guard eye him then chuckle, "Alright, fine, you guys have your fun."His eyes narrowed and he looked around the room as the guard left. It was just Dukes and two other, skinnier inmates left. Everyone else was gone.

And now all three of them were heading straight for him. Perfect.

Dukes came up behind him, "I like your scars, Walters. Where'd you get em?" His spider-sense was loud now, drowning out the sounds of rushing water around them. The two other inmates stood on his left and right with an all too familiar look in their eyes.

"...You picked the wrong target, idiots." He turned around and glared at Dukes, "Turn around or I'm gonna shove something else up there, and I can guarantee you're not gonna like it."

Dukes didn't look deterred at all, "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. I'll have my fun either way."

Peter kicked him in-between his legs. Hard.

The big bastard fell like a sack of bricks. The skinnier inmate to his right grabbed him and pinned his arms behind his back, "Hold him still!" The other one with the scars advanced on him. Peter kicked him in the gut then shot back and hit skinny's nose with the back of his head.

Skinny's grip loosened. Peter broke free of the hold, turned around and hit him square in the throat, "I warned you." He elbowed Scars in the jaw and grunted in pain as Dukes suddenly shot up and tackled him to the wall. Felt like he got hit with a truck.

"You shouldn't have done that!" Dukes snarled at up him. Peter sneered back and jabbed both thumbs against his eyes. Dukes screamed and let go of him, giving Peter a chance to knee the tubby bastard in the gut and shove him away.

His back was throbbing painfully and he already saw the two other inmates rising to join their friends, _'Really good time to gimme my powers back, Spider-God,' _he thought. They were advancing on him now, more angry than anything. He didn't know if that was good or bad considering what they planned, '...Still nothing, huh? _You're not gonna have a pawn much longer if this keeps up.'_

Peter ran up the opposite wall then jumped straight for them. They didn't see the sudden attack coming and he punched Dukes right in the jaw as he landed, "What the-" He hit Scars next, tripping him to the floor and stomping on his face right before Skinny threw a punch aimed at his face. He managed to block the hit - thank you, Stick - and headbutted him as he was going for another blow.

It hurt more than he expected.

He was about to kick Dukes again when his spider-sense screamed. His collar activated with a soft ping and he was forced to the ground on his knees, "Back it up!" The guards shouted as they stormed into the room, "All of you back in yours cells now!"

They didn't beat him, but that was the only good thing he could say about the entire thing. They dragged him back to his cell without even a check-in at the infirmary and dumped him inside along with his clothes without another word. No solitary, much to his surprise. He didn't know if it was pity and them knowing he was just defending himself or because they thought solitary would've been too good for someone like him. He couldn't get attacked if he was alone in a room, after all.

This place was hellish, but it was about what he expected. Just a year ago the prison system was a joke. Clowns in costumes busted out every other weekend and no one ever really expected anyone to to ever actually be punished. Now the guards here were beating it into them: they were all ants and none of them were getting out. Cruel, but in a lot of ways effective.

He wasn't too sympathetic. This place was filled with murderers, rapists, human traffickers, terrorists and lawyers; not people you tend to pity.

Right now he was sitting on a bench 'outside' for his allotted hour of sunshine and fresh air...well, a simulated one at least. Peter looked up blankly at the cloudless, baking 'sky'. It was a good facsimile, but that's all it was - a fake. They were still inside, still trapped like rodents while an oversized sunlamp and a pretty picture of clouds allowed them to pretend they could be outside for just an hour.

"Hey." Peter looked up and raised a brow at the person who approached him. An older man, at least in his 50's judging by the white hair and pale, wrinkled skin. He didn't let it sway him. Beware the old man in a profession where men usually died young.

"The fuck do you want?" he sneered.

The old man laughed under his breath, a raspy noise that sounded that more like a wheeze than anything, "You can calm down the rabid dog act. Ain't gonna try and get ya like Dukes did." He walked - limped - closer and sat a small distance away. Peter eyed the cane he held in his right hand. It was a drab green and dirty, a lightweight plastic by the looks of it. Couldn't even snap it in half and use it as a weapon.

"Not looking for friends, old timer."

"Me neither." He leaned forward with both hands holding onto the cane's head. They sat in a tucked away corner that allowed them a decent vantage point of the 'playground' they were in.

Peter already saw the gangs that made up this place. Most of the freaks stuck together, if only because a lone Gifted was an easy target in this hellish playpen. He caught the blue tinted weasel from before hanging out with a pair of guys who had craggy, rocky skin and another that looked like his flesh was barely keeping itself from spontaneously combusting.

He even recognized a few of them. Some of Jack's Lanterns took up their own little corner of the yard and there were a couple of bikers from the Dogs of Hell he busted over a year ago for dismembering a prosecutor and his entire family for putting their boss away.

The other gangs were more of the same. People from the same outfit outside, friends of friends who figured they could cozy up...and a few others that grouped together because they were reasonably sure they wouldn't get shanked while they weren't looking. There were a few outcasts like him, but he could count those on one hand. Places like this you needed as much bodies as you could put between you and everyone else.

Which made the old man stick out even more.

"Fascinating, isn't it?" the old man rasped. Peter didn't say anything, "Strip a man down to his basest level and you see the animals they truly are. Most of them have all but given up the thought of ever being outside, content to just squabble amongst themselves for whatever scraps they could gnaw on." Peter rolled his eyes. Why did so many people nowadays try to act so profound and above it all?

"They're the size of ants trapped in a dollhouse. If they did still think they could get out they've got brain damage." Damn, he needed a smoke. Or a shot of something hard and bitter, "Don't act like you're any better. My guess is you ain't exactly leavin' any time soon, old timer."

That was something he only thought about rarely. Gwen and a lot of the other heroes were content to drop the bad guys in jail and let the courts sort them out. A life sentence was just that - life. Second you were in these walls you'd eat the same food, wear the same clothes and stare at the same walls till you croaked your last. No family, and the only friends you'd have were the shields you used.

Killing them outside seemed almost merciful. Least then they'd breath their last free instead of trapped in a concrete coffin. He'd prefer that to rotting in some prison.

It was gruesome, in a way. He'd been through enough funerals to know how painful it was when no one showed. Martin, Urich, Bullseye...dying with maybe two people who really cared that you were actually gone with everyone else showing up for the sake of appearance. That was what waited for most of them. When Murdock died, when Punisher died, when Bullseye died (again)...there'd be no one there to give a final farewell. They'd cut off and hurt anyone who might have cared.

Just a year ago he thought the same would happen to him.

"Maybe." He coughed and Peter saw flecks of blood at his fingers before he wiped them away, "But some of us got livin' to do."

"You call being here living?"

"You're right. Surviving seems more appropriate." Another wheezing laugh, "But what's the difference, huh? We're all living on borrowed time. Time bandit gets all of us in the end."

"...What do you want? I doubt you came here to discuss philosophy with a hired killer. If you're asking me to shiv someone for you then you better have something to make it worthwhile." He wouldn't kill anyone for some wannabe kingpin, but a shiv on its own was worth its weight in gold here. He'd definitely feel a whole lot better having something sharp in his hands.

"Eager, aren't you? No, nothing like that. People heard about your 'disagreement' with Dukes and his cronies in the showers and now they're interested. You're a scrapper, and Hammerhead's looking for those." Peter raised a brow. Hammerhead? He knew he was in here -Cin and Summers were really thorough - so he shouldn't have been surprised he was involved. Guys like Hammerhead were ticks. They latched on to whatever they could get.

"And what are you supposed to be? The messenger?"

"Yes, so don't shoot me." His smile was crooked. Unnatural, like his face wasn't used to making that kind of expression, "You're free to accept or refuse, but my advice? Use it to get closer. It can only help you in your goal."

Peter pursed his lips, "What the hell do you mean by that?"

"The reason Spider-Man is willing to trap himself in such a prison." Peter didn't react. He didn't scream, gasp or look like he'd been punched in the face. Instead his eyes narrowed by the barest amount and his grip on the side of the bench became tight.

"...How much do you know?" No point in denying it. If the old bastard knew then he was either part of the Hand or, much less likely, someone else Page sent. Neither really appealed to him.

"Not as much as you'd think." He coughed and sat up straighter, "Got the tingle at the back of my head when you got to this place." Spider-sense. His most consistent gift tended to be finicky. Not like Gwen's where it just didn't work half the time but it seemed selective on warning him about other Spiders. Sometimes he got small blares when they were near but it never wanted to warn him if they decided to punch him in the jaw.

"Never seen you before."

"You wouldn't. I've spent the past 30 years in this place," he said, "I was an acquaintance of the previous Madame Web, the one who didn't go on picking fights with demons. Though I hear that she's really growing into the role."

"You're a stranger then." Meaning he couldn't trust him.

"If you're worried about whether I'll expose your identity, don't. Not only do I lack any sort of proof I don't see how it'll help me. Being in debt to a crippled mob boss the size of an ant is hardly appealing and none of the guards would exactly be keen to reward me. I just thought it was appropriate to make my presence known to another Hunter. It's been decades since I saw another."

"I'm gonna have to disappoint you, then. I'm not too keen on the hunter, secret society thing you guys have going."

"Yes, you and Spider-Woman both, I assume." He chuckled wryly, "It is such an irony. To think that the chosen of Anansi would be so cut off from those who worship him. Ah, but in that way we're similar. I'm an outcast myself."

"Good for you." Peter wasn't in the best mood. Dealing with Teresa's side always brought out the worst in him, even if he was good at it. Demons, ghosts, vampires, immortal ninjas...he missed the days when all he had to worry about was a mook in a suit with more greed than sense, "Look, just stay the hell out of my way. I'm not here for you and you're not here for me. I've got my own things to worry about."

"Of course." He chuckled one last time and stood, "But before I go, a proper introduction is in order. You may call me Ezekiel. And you?"

"Don't act like you don't already know." Jack made damn sure every person in the city knew who he was, "Thanks for the message, but if it's all the same to you I don't wanna talk again."

Before he could say anything Peter stood up and made his way elsewhere to wait out the rest of their 'outside' time. The side of Peter's mouth twitched. Ezekiel. He hadn't heard the name from Teresa but Cindy told him all about her world's version. If they were in any way similar then he definitely couldn't trust him.

* * *

**Spinerette: **Alright so a bunch of people have been real entitled lately, expecting things and favors from the **Avengers**, and I feel like I should do a PSA.

1\. Your taxes do not pay our salary. People keep telling us this and it's getting tiring. The Avengers are a U.N affiliated group (seriously, it's right there in the website) and we get our funding from **Wasp** and **Tony Stark**. Just about all of the merch money goes to various charities so don't even try that.

2\. The Avengers are officially tasked with intervening in specific conflicts that fall under certain jurisdictions. This does not include us all appearing for your kid's birthday party. If your kid really does have cancer then I'm sorry, but we're not required and if we have other things to do you can't expect us to drop everything to play mascot.

3\. You are not entitled to dates, web rides, free concert tickets or whatever else because you liked all of our headbook pages and buy a bunch of our merch. If I'm not busy I sometimes give kids rides, but that's it.

4\. You cannot 'rate' our performances. If you have a legitimate complaint then you can file it at the Avengers law offices **here **but 'Spider-Woman didn't give me a ride!' or 'Hawkeye refused to go on a date with me!' are not legitimate complaints. We're heroes, not taxi drivers and escorts.

5\. We are not a police force. If you see something like a drug deal or a theft in your neighborhood please contact your closest 911 operator rather than us. We understand these are actual crimes but there are only _6_ of us and we can't be on call for every single things.

6\. This rule only applies for Spider-Woman. No, you cannot ask her to unmask. I unmasked because I wanted to but there's a very clear stipulation in the Avengers roster that members only have to be identified to other Avengers and certain individuals.

**reply from Omakanerd: **And let the floodgates open...

**reply from Saintess: **This all still seems suspect and unfair. I asked Spinerette when she was swinging overhead to just pop in for my son's party. Wouldn't have taken five minutes and it would've made his day.

**reply from baconcatdog: **Yeah. Like how hard would it have been to say hi?

**reply from Spinerette: **The last time I got asked personally I was busy. With what, you ask? Oh I was trying to save a kid who got kidnapped. So tell me, why does your kid having a better party more important than a kid getting back home to his parent?

**reply from Saintess: **Well you didn't have to be so rude! And it was just five minutes! It wouldn't have killed you!

**reply from Spinerette: **No, you're right. Next time the police or the fire dept gotta go somewhere I'll stop them for five minutes to say hi to my kid. I mean that crime in progress or that raging fire can just wait, right? What I need is _much_ more important.

**reply from Omakanerd: **Lol.

**reply from Kill Frag: **Burned.

**reply from Saintess: **Egotistical *&^*! Blocked!

* * *

Being in prison was an odd experience, Echo mused. Odd yet also familiar. The similar uniforms, the way they were treated more as numbers than individuals; it all reminded her of her time training under the Hand. The main difference she noticed was the gender segregation. The Hand cared not for your sex, only how useful you were. Some women were handed off to be breeding stock if they proved too weak or too injured to be combatants, but the same could be said of the men who became breeding studs instead. Fresh blood was a commodity that couldn't be replaced.

Which brought her here.

Her own gender was a benefit now. The Hand came to this prison to bolster their ranks and that included women. The rest of the group - Defenders, the city called them, though none of them aside from Daredevil in jest referred to themselves as such - were in another part of the prison entirely. If she saw anyone the Hand attempted to recruit then her task was to keep them imprisoned and, failing that, ensure the Hand couldn't use them.

Echo carefully observed the rest of the inmates in the feeding hall. She hadn't said a word since she arrived a week prior and it hadn't taken long for the rest of the prisoners to understand she was incapable - or unwilling - of speech. It suited her fine. A few of the other prisoners were wary at first, but as soon as they realized she couldn't expose their secrets they treated her as nothing more than a mild curiosity to ignore.

Most of the prisoners here fit with the intelligence they were given. Murderers, terrorists, kidnappers. All things she could be accurately described being as well given her long history with the Hand. It allowed her a unique insight into who would be prioritized for recruitment.

The one that drew her attention was one in particular. A woman, always with a cocky smile on her face despite the circumstances she found herself in. Karla Sofen, better known by the name Moonstone. She was defeated by Spider-Woman and a few others a year prior and had been imprisoned ever since.

Her mindset and physicality would've been appealing to the Hand. She was powerful, well above the other prisoners, and she had a mercenary attitude to match. If the Hand found a way to release her from her confinement then they would gain her services in turn. She had to ensure that wouldn't happen. The loss of the Black Sky made the Hand desperate enough.

But how to do so?

She'd been trained to kill and it was second instinct for her to plan how to do so as soon as she entered a room. Which ones to kill first, who would prove troublesome to incapacitate and anything she could use to accomplish her task. Her imprisonment limited her options. The utensils were made of a lightweight plastic, not even good enough to create a makeshift weapon, and the collars ensured compliance. As soon as she made to attack someone she would be restrained.

Echo didn't let it get to her. She had done more with less in the past and would continue to do so as she drew breath.

She finished her meal and awaited the time till she returned to her cell. The imprisonment brought out some of her old habits. Back in the Hand's facilities her time was rigidly scheduled - a rigid 4 hours of sleep, a breakfast meant to ensure her nutrition then training and sparring the rest of the day till it started all over again. At times she went on missions, but those were always when she was watched over by another to ensure compliance.

Except for that one...

"Hey, move it, mute." One of the guards shoved her roughly into the hall. Echo didn't look back in her direction and trudged back to her cell. So far she hadn't seen much in the way of recruitment apart from the blonde woman. It was obvious. While she always held a smug sense of superiority it had been amplified the past few days after another prisoner whispered something she couldn't make out. An offer from the Hand presumably.

She returned to her cell and the door behind her with a light hiss. Echo removed her boots and shifted into a meditative position on the bed. Some of the other prisoners mocked her at first, throwing jeers her way for her 'meditation bullshit' and other such crude names, but like the rest of their insults it eventually passed when they saw she never reacted to them. She would've been a poor assassin if she let words bother her.

The light shut overhead. Echo took a deep breath and let her thoughts drift elsewhere. Here in the cell she was incapable of doing her task so there was little need for such rigid attention.

_"Hey, what are you doing here?"_

Echo didn't open her eyes or show any reaction that she heard the voice. Because he wasn't there. She wasn't sure if it was a deficiency unique to her or all previous Black Skies shared such an affliction. At times, even when the thought was nothing more than an errant stray, she would receive visual and auditory hallucinations. She never told anyone else. The Hand would've purged her mind once more.

Perhaps it was a side-effect of her thoughts about her daughter.

She took another deep breath. Dwelling served nothing, that had been instilled in her for years now, and yet even now a part of her continued to reminisce of...'happier times'. Of the mission that she failed, of her handler falling as well and herself being left for dead. She would have - should have - died there, but the ingrained instinct to survive bade her to crawl away and search for aid till she became too weak.

That was when he found her. Amistad Penalba, a man who lived on the outskirts of town. He could have left her to die. She was covered in wounds, yes, but the weapon she clutched in her hand should've warned him away.

_"You should come back inside. It's freezing out here."_

Instead he nursed her back to health. She remembered her first action upon waking: grabbing her sword and placing it right against his neck. He'd calmed her down, assured her that nothing and no one was going to hurt her and that he was only there to help. She had ignored every instinct she had to cut his throat and leave.

So she stayed. She never talked, but he didn't seem to mind. It was...different, being with him. There was no training, no rigidly enforced schedule. For those first couple of months she recovered from her wounds and after that...

_"Hey, is something wrong?" _

It was odd, being with him. Truly odd. She had no reference to draw from. Sometimes the Hand sent assassins undercover to gain trust before killing their targets - a honey trap, to use Bakuto's words. Not her. She was a weapon, nothing more and nothing less.

The Hand thought she was dead. It wasn't an odd assumption to make - her handler had died and his body had been disposed off by vultures, so it was fair to guess that she had shared his fate. She had a new lease on life, uncertain as it was, and despite her expectation Amistad hadn't thrown her out. He was a bit of an outcast by his own definition, staying at the edge of town and living day to day as a repairman. The town knew and valued him, but he didn't have friends.

She supposed that was why she stayed. She was an outcast as well, an assassin presumed dead and with no master to follow. And Amistad's acceptance of her was an unexpected boon. She had no doubt she could sell her services elsewhere or survive via theft or other such means, but his unsaid offer drew her in.

She didn't know if it was love, gratitude or something else, but it only took months for them to join together and for that union to bear fruit. Aracely. He was the one who chose the name. He said it was the name of his grandmother, the woman who cared for him when he'd been abandoned by his own parents. She didn't refuse. The Hand referred to her by many titles - Black Sky, Assassin, Disciple - but never a proper name.

_"Maya?"_

It wasn't her name. He called her that out of convenience, because a woman with no name accompanying him to town would have drawn attention. She accepted. It felt different, having a name.

But she became careless. Shortly after Aracely's birth Amistad insisted they take her to a festival the town was doing. She'd been reluctant at first, to which he teased for for being an 'overprotective mom'. He was always like that, so quick to try and bring a smile to her face. It worked, at times. The last time she'd smiled was when she'd been with them.

It was after that when the Hand realized she was alive. Someone had taken a picture and she'd been present. The internet wasn't as prevalent 16 years ago as it was now but the Hand had their methods. Even a single glimpse of her face was enough for them - for Bakuto - to track her down and soon enough they gave her the first orders she'd received in over two years.

Kill Amistad and return to the fold.

She should have fought, should have refused their orders, but the years of slavery - for that was what it truly was - and brainwashing had numbed her. And so she waited outside, certain that he would come to check on her.

_"Maya...why did you...?" _

That was when she ended his life. She would never forget the look of betrayal in his eyes as he died, the feeling of his blood on her fingers as she drove the knife in deep. She did her best to make it quick. Bakuto had been watching to ensure she followed his orders.

She made sure to call the police before leaving. She couldn't take Aracely with her, but she could ensure she would taken to an orphanage. It did nothing to make up for what she'd done, but at least now she had a chance to live without the Hand interfering in her life.

Until they came for her anyway 15 years later and something inside Echo snapped.

Her hold on her right knee tightened by the barest amount. They didn't know of their relation, and even if they did she doubted they cared. To them you were only as valuable as you were useful, and her abilities were very useful. Echo didn't know if it was something from her bloodline, Amistad's or sheer luck like so many who gained powers in this world. Her own status as the Black Sky was chance, after all.

The others were aware of their relation. Daredevil was content to poke fun while Spider-Man kept his thoughts on it to himself. Moon Knight understood her reluctance to reveal their connection to her, which she appreciated. Daniel was...difficult. He continually insisted that she try to become a family, as if 15 years of abandonment could be so easily rectified.

Perhaps it was due to his own circumstances - being orphaned at a young age as well and craving parents - or perhaps it was gratitude for her saving him during Arcade's torturous game. She didn't understand why he focused on it so much. Saving him was the pragmatic choice. She could survive the fall given her abilities whereas he was at risk due to the drugs disrupting his chi capabilities. It was an easy choice to make.

The way he acted was annoying. And reminded her of Amistad too much for her liking.

It wouldn't work. Even if she hadn't murdered her father 15 years of abandonment weren't simply repaired with such ease. Better she put it from her mind.

The time passed in a blur as she continued to meditate. Outside of their designated feeding times and showers most prisoners spent all their time in the cells. Suited her fine. Until she could find a way to deal with Moonstone she saw no purpose in interacting with the other prisoners.

And so she stayed until the alarm suddenly blared overhead. Echo opened her eyes and looked up blankly as the door to her cell suddenly opened, "..." She put her shoes on slowly and watched as all of the prisoners rushed out of their now-unlocked cells and began to attack the guards in earnest. A riot? Likely organized by the Hand. It was a risky undertaking, but she supposed using the other prisoners as distraction and cover made sense.

She was about to step out of her cell when three inmates suddenly stepped in. Echo raised a brow when the one in front, a muscled woman with dark skin, grinned and raised a shiv, "You're Ava, ain't you?" Ava Strauss, her fake name. Echo didn't react and just stared at her through half-lidded eyes, "Sorry to say, but we got told that if we wanna ride outta here then you gotta go."

Echo surged ahead and hit the woman in the throat before she could react. The other two stepped back, both shocked, and she used it as a chance to grab the falling shiv. Echo slashed the woman's throat then stabbed her in the gut, "Shit-" One of the two screamed. Echo pinned the one to the left against the wall and stabbed her three times in the stomach then once through her jaw.

The last one tried to hit the back of her head. Echo ducked, swept her leg to knock her to the floor then stabbed the makeshift weapon to her forehead. Echo pulled the shiv back, ignoring the slight spurt of blood and stood up properly, "..." She looked down at the bloodstained weapon. Crude, but it would do. From what she'd gathered Moonstone was difficult to injure with blunt force trauma but blades and bullets worked just fine.

She looked down at the prisoners again. They were told to kill her specifically, so she could only assume that the Hand knew they were here. She had to stop this before they escaped with their new recruits.

* * *

**DeusDraconis: **So** Spider-Man's** from like the 30's right? Does that mean he's...you know?

**reply from Crimson Tiger: **What? Old?

**reply from DeusDraconis: **No like...racist or sexist or something. Back then it wasn't exactly equal.

**reply from Kurai Akuma: **I dunno. I don't see him saying anything racist and he seems to get along really well with **Spinerette, Spider-Woman and Striker.** Then again he did kill a _lot _of ninjas...

**reply from nicobunmo: **Ninjas led by a white guy lol.

**reply from DeusDraconis: **But what about other sexualities? Back then people didn't even know anything but straight and gay, and gays weren't treated well.

**reply from nicobunmo: **Spider-Woman is bi and they get along great, right?

**reply from Dark Spider: **I really don't care. Don't care where you came from, don't care who or what you wanna sleep with or if you identify as an attack helicopter. As long as you're not hurting anyone else and don't bother me with it you can do whatever the hell you want.

**reply from DeusDraconis: **'Bother you with it'? Are you saying that people of alternate lifestyles bother you? Cause that's what I'm getting here.

**reply from nicbunmo: **Oh boy here we go...

**Spinerette sent a private message to StrikerNotBombshell:**

**Spinerette:** Why did you answer that with Pete's account?

**reply from StrikerNotBombshell: **He gave me his account pswd and told me to handle the online stuff while he was in the slammer. Seemed like how he'd answer it, yeah?

**reply from Spinerette: **Last I checked he didn't know about the attack helicopter meme.

**reply from StrikerNotBombshell: **Eh, close enough. Those triggered assholes would've been offended no matter what I said. Besides he doesn't give a shit. He doesn't care about this social media shit.

**reply from Spinerette: **I don't think he's gonna be happy when he comes back...

* * *

Peter knocked the goon down to the floor and stomped his face in.

"Is that all you've got?!" he shouted. Ezekiel was right. The day after their little chat the blue skinned criminal - Jazz, he called himself - sent a message from Hammerhead. An...audition, so to speak. Go through some of the the mooks at the bottom of the rung and he could start earning some favors. The price for this little brawl? A single cigarette with promises of more.

It was more than worth it.

Peter kicked the twitching bastard - a guy who murdered his entire family then left the heads dangling somewhere - one last time and trudged to the side with his one coffin nail. He wasn't the only one fighting. The Hand cast a wide net and people were all too desperate to fight for what little creature comforts Hammerhead offered. Coffin nails, whiskey, coffee, chocolate...anything to remind them there was more than just these walls. That they were still human.

He took a long drag and eyed Hammerhead nearby. He still remembered his threats from a year ago. All those promises of getting out of prison in a day and seeking bloody revenge on him and Gabriel. And look at him now. Still stuck in prison and confined to a wheelchair cause of what he did. Some people might have felt guilty crippling a man for life, but Peter thought he got off easy considering everything he did.

Peter closed his eyes and hummed. The cigarette felt like heaven after a week of prison food. He eyed the bottle of whiskey stashed nearby. A part of him was tempted to risk nabbing it when they weren't looking. Maybe Gwen was right about him needing help...

The fights came and went. Anyone who lost was tossed aside without a care while the rest of the prisoners placed bets on whatever they had. According to what he overheard the warden didn't know what happened down here. Hammerhead bribed a select few guards and in exchange he gave them a cut of whatever he made. Sometimes the guards themselves came down to make their own bets, but they were absent now.

"Alright, ya mooks! Last one!" Hammerhead screamed. He definitely looked worse off than when he saw him last. Apart from the wheelchair his bulky physique was gone, replaced by a thinner, much less intimidating figure. The only thing left of the Hammerhead he fought a year ago was that messed up dome of his.

Peter was going to cut in again - could always use another smoke - when someone else stepped up, "I'll take this one." Bullseye grinned and cracked his knuckles. Peter bit back a scowl. He noticed him before, but he did his best to ignore him. Apart from Ezekiel no one else but the rest of their little group knew who they were and the last thing he needed was drawing any more attention.

Him fighting was a surprise, though. Peter assumed the Hand brought him here to support Murakami and yet here he was.

Unlike him and the others he made no attempt to disguise his face. A few of the prisoners whispered, probably recognizing him, and one in particular stepped forward, "You are Bullseye, yes?" Vodkalky - Rhino to the rest of the city - looked down at him with a malicious grin. Unlike Hammerhead he was walking fine and he was sure the Hand wanted him too. Guess those powers really helped out, "The one who is the friends with Spider-Man?"

"Ex-friends, blue guy. We had a bit of a difference of opinion." The bald man's eyes flickered over to where Peter sat. Just a coincidence, had to be, "If you're thinking about the whole revenge thing I wouldn't try it. He hates me right now."

"Heh, I am not believing you." He cracked his hands, "We fight."

"Alright, don't say I didn't warn you."

It was pitifully short. Bullseye ducked back to avoid his clumsy swipes and, after a quick flip back, pulled something from the inside of his jumpsuit, which Peter realized after a quick glance were the cut-off prongs from one of the plastic fork.

Then he tossed them straight at Vodkakly's eyes.

Against all known laws of physics, the little bits of plastic punched clean through both sockets. Vodkalky screamed, stumbling back with both hands covering is bleeding face. Bullseye whistled a jaunty tune and, after a quick skip forward, suddenly lashed out and kicked the blue skinned mutant in his right knee. Peter heard the impact all the way from his own spot and watched as Vodkalky fell to the ground with his leg bent forward at an unnatural angle.

He raised his left hand up desperately, "W-Wait-"

"Nope." Bullseye stomped down on his other leg just as hard. A few of the prisoners winced in sympathy but far more were already cheering or exchanging their contraband. Bullseye stepped back and put a hand on his chin as he admired his handiwork, "Hmm...not my best work, but I'd say it's at least a six out of ten." He turned to Peter, "What about you? What do you think?"

"...Five out of ten," he muttered.

"Really? Man, you're harsh." He shrugged and walked back to the crowd.

"Alright, ya mooks, that's enough!" Hammerhead screamed, "Show's over! Back to your cells, and remember: any of ya wiseguys say anythin' and you know what'll happen."

"Hmm..." Peter finished off the last of his cigarette and stomped what was left underfoot. Going from what he gathered he and the rest of the winners would get a message later tonight. If they wanted out they'd just have to nod in the affirmative. Easy enough, he thought. Once he got his invite he'd find a way to get a message to the rest of the group on where they were gathering.

He was almost to his cell when one of the guards suddenly called him, "Hey, Walters. Warden said he wanted you at the clinic."

"...Why?"

He slapped cuffs on his hand, "Don't ask questions. Just follow me and keep your mouth shut."

So he did. Peter kept his face passive and ignored the rough shove of the Goliath of a guard as soon as they were outside. The orderly, a Black man who looked to be in his 40's with a nametag that said 'Woods', greeted him warmly, "Hey there. Sorry about this, just needed to do a check in. Found something odd in your file." Well, he was friendly. That and the same size as him, though that was more for practicality. Hard to do stuff like blood tests or sewing skin when you were twice the size of your patient.

"Just get it done."

He sat on the nearby chair and looked down at his cuffed hands. What the hell was going on? The files should've been foolproof, "Tch..." He looked up at the lazily moving camera on the corner here they were being watched, "...How's it going there, doc?"

Spider-sense.

Peter stood and ducked back. The orderly suddenly lunged at him, right hand raised with a syringe. The needle stabbed against the hard cushion and Peter kneed him in the face. The syringe cluttered to the ground and Peter kicked him in the chest, "Working for the Hand or someone else?" He didn't say anything and just lunged at him again.

Peter rolled under the wide blow and kicked him in the back. The older man hit the wall and Peter grabbed him by the back of his neck before slamming him facefirst into it. Another hit, this time a back elbow. Peter blocked it and smashed his head against the wall two more times before slamming him on the ground. A final stomp to his face knocked him out.

"Shit..." He made his way to the door and tried the door. Locked. Something was wrong. The guard should have heard what happened and rushed in already, "They planned this." He smashed his bound hands against the door in frustration and and stepped back. Had to be a way to get out of here.

There was a paperclip on the desk. It took some work but eventually he managed to unlock the cuffs, "Now how do I get out of here..." The door didn't have a knob. It was a electronic, like most everything else here. He supposed it was a lucky thing vibranium cuffs still used lock and key.

The sudden ringing of a cellphone reached his ears. Peter knelt down next to the unconscious orderly and pulled the phone out of his pocket. He took a deep breath and answered the call.

"Spider-Man."

"Gao..." Should've known. She had her hands in every pot.

"It is you. I had my doubts at first, but your reflexes are second to none." Peter turned around and glared at the camera. It wasn't moving now and stood frozen, looking directly at him, "Oh yes, it was quite a show."

"What were you planning to do? Just kill me with an injection? Seems sloppy."

"No. I would've taken you, tried to understand how your patron empowers you. Killing you was a last resort. It opens the risk of your benefactor making another pawn. Ah, but perhaps they wouldn't come after us."

"You're scared. I can hear it."

"Not scared, more curious. I wonder, why do you insist on conflict with us? Matthew attacked you, I understand that. We did not support the Beast straying and patiently awaited a victor without interfering. We would've been content to leave you be but you insisted on starting a conflict that had no reason to pass. You cost us our wayward patron and we would've let you go. But now you're here, following Murakami even to prison and allying yourself with our prodigal student Matthew. Why?"

"Let me guess. This is the part where you tell me me this doesn't have to end this way. That we can still end things if I just walk away."

"No. You were a foolish child and you've cost us dearly. Alexandra, our bases in Japan and elsewhere, all the men you've killed. The time for a ceasefire has long passed. I'm merely curious on why you started this. You have no stake in this conflict. You are not a member of the Chaste. Our activities never harmed you."

"You think that's enough? Just cause you were doing horrible things out of sight I wouldn't care? Did you forget? I'm Spider-Man, and I clean up trash like you."

"Ha, so brash and egotistical even now. Fine then, let's see how long that lasts now that everyone in this prison knows who you are."

The call cut out. His spider-sense blared just before the door unlocked and he heard the alarms screaming overhead, "...Fine. Hope you enjoy the show." He sneered up at the camera and tossed the phone up at it, cracking the lens. Always hiding behind screens and proxies. At least Murakami got his hands dirty.

He stopped in front of the door and took a deep breath. His spider-sense was louder now. Danger on the other side, _'Tell me something I don't know...'_ The door opened with a soft noise and he saw an inmate straight across from him with a manic grin on his face. It was one of the Lanterns he put away over a year ago, _'Hm...' _Two more to his left. At least the right was a dead end.

The one in front charged towards him. Peter dodged the punch and hit him with a quick right hook before slamming the side of his head on the corner wall. His spider-sense rang and he let go to just barely manage a block from one of the two to his left.

Peter punched him in the throat and grabbed the other one's right arm then slammed him to the floor. He only managed two hits before his spider-sense blared again and the first inmate grabbed him by the shoulder, "Pin him to the wall!" A fist impacted against the side of Peter's face. His vision swam from the force of the hit and before he could fight back the second inmate grabbed his other shoulder while the third stood up with demented grin.

"Hold him still!" The third one pulled out a shiv and stabbed right for his face. Peter ducked the blow, the shiv scraping the wall right above his head, and kicked him right between the legs. He stomped on the inmate holding his right shoulder and managed to shove him away when the second one hit him twice . Once on his left cheek and the other on the back of the head.

Peter grabbed the back of his legs and, with a quick heave, they were both on the floor. Peter ignored the breath being knocked out of throat from the impact and tried to grab for the shiv, "Fuck you!" The second inmate grabbed his hand and tried to pull him back. Peter punched him in the face three times and tried to grab for the makeshift knife again when the third inmate stood up shakily and accidentally kicked it away.

Peter stood up only to take another blow at the right side of his face and a knee to the gut. Peter spat out bits of his non-existent lunch and, as the the inmate pinned him to the wall and the others started to recover, desperately reached for the shiv again.

Peter's next hit didn't quite hit him in the legs, but it was enough to loosen the inmate's grip. Peter fell and scrambled for the weapon, "Don't let him-" The third inmate grabbed at his back and was too slow to to notice the shiv in his hands. His next wears were a deafening scream as Peter slashed the knife across his face another, shorter yell when he jammed it in his forehead.

The first inmate screamed and tackled him to the wall. The impact knocked him senseless and he was on his knees when the second inmate ran and kicked the left side of his head. He started hitting him again, punching at whatever he could reach while the first inmate kicked at him. Peter grit his teeth and cursed himself for even attending Hammerhead's little fight club. Without his powers he could feel tired and the injuries weren't just healed overnight.

Peter grit his teeth and tackled the first inmate to the wall in return. The second one got a backwards kick to the stomach and stumbled back next to the dead body of his fellow Lantern, "Go to hell!" Peter screamed, all patience lost. He punched him in the face almost half a dozen times before he dragged him through the door back to the clinic. They fought on the floor before Peter saw the discard syringe lying on the floor.

He grabbed it and stabbed the Lantern right at the side of the neck. He kept pushing till the needle was all the way in then shoved him. The inmate trashed around and tried to reach for the needle when Peter stomped him the throat twice. He stopped moving after that.

The last inmate charged into the room. Peter barely dodged his enraged tackle and the Lantern crashed against the old chair. Peter grabbed him by the back of his jumpsuit and tossed him across the patient bed at the center of the room. Peter looked around briefly and spotted the stethoscope still hanging on the orderly's neck. That'd work.

He unfurled the stethoscope and wrapped it around the face-down Latnern's neck. He choked and struggled, hands desperately reaching back to knock him away. Peter grit his teeth and placed his knee at his back to keep him pinned to the floor.

It wasn't long afterwards that his struggle grew weaker. Peter kept the length wrapped around his neck for another 30 seconds before he stumbled back and sat against the wall. He panted and winced, trying to ignore the parts of his body that throbbed from their hits, "Damn it..." He stood up and glared one last time at the cracked camera. Gao must've been laughing her head off.

He stumbled outside and, after only a little hesitation, grabbed the impaled shiv. He wiped the excess blood away on his pants and kept it close. The makeshift blade was small, more a switchblade than a knife, but beggars couldn't be choosers. He had to be careful here. Dukes and his cronies were easy cause they were reckless, so sure that he'd be intimidated that all they'd have to do was bend him over. This was a sobering reminder of how vulnerable he was without the Spider-God's gifts.

He heard the signs of the riot nearby and cursed. How the hell did they pull this off? Every inmate was collared and even if they weren't there were normal sized people outside. This shouldn't be possible.

He stopped at the corner of the hall when he spotted the lone prisoner rifling through the pockets of a dead guard. Judging by the bodies of the other inmates around him the guy didn't go out without a fight. Then again, he thought, it must've been easy when he was twice everyone's size.

Sadly numbers always won out in the end.

Peter grabbed the inmate and, before he could react, slashed his throat then stabbed him in the gut. It was the way Stick taught him - a slash or a stab to the throat to keep them from screaming and stab in the gut to make them bleed out. They were dead in seconds.

Footsteps coming. Peter scowled and, seeing no other option, ducked into the nearby cell. This one didn't have the clear, bulletproof glass of the other rooms. Must've been solitary.

Peter shut the door and kept quiet. The room was dark, blindingly so. Without his powers he barely saw anything. At the center of the room was an upright cage that looked more like an iron maiden than anything fit for human habitation, "What the hell...?" He stepped closer, knife gripped tightly. The footsteps outside passed by. He was about to turn around and forget the whole thing when he heard laughter.

Rough, raspy laughter that felt like sandpaper against his skin. And all too familiar.

"Peter..." He stepped back and the voice came again from the contraption, "I know you're there, Peter! I can't see and I can only hear out of one ear but I'll never forget you. Your voiced, the way you walk...there's no mistaking it. You're there, aren't you?"

He should've kept his mouth shut, should've just walked away and risked it outside, but he found himself answering anyway.

"Jack..."

* * *

**The Alphazone: **Guys...I have a confession to make. I went out with **Spinerette** on a date before she exposed her identity. The date was okay. Nothing spectacular, nothing bad. Average. I would've just moved on but then she unmasked like a couple of days later and now...fuck. It's like...it doesn't matter who else I date, I had a chance with Spinerette and I fucked it up. Every time I turn on a TV I see her and no other date can compare.

**reply from Ninjadude96:** Uh...you might wanna go to a therapist. Sounds like you've got Super Envy.

**reply from Chris Valdez: **Have you tried contacting her again?

**reply from The Alphazone: **Yeah. She just said that the date was okay but she wasn't interested in picking things up again. It's...fuck, that shit hurts. I tried going on a date a week ago and all I could think about was that I could've been going out with Spinerette now if I pushed and made more of an effort. I think I love her.

**reply from solarflare4: **Alright, I'll say this sincerely and from the heart: get some fucking help. You're convinced that you would've made this perfect couple if you just 'tried harder' but doesn't the fact that you had an average date when you didn't know her really telling? You saw her without the mask and the date you got was 'average'. Now because you know she's a Superhero you're convinced it's suddenly a romance for the ages? No dude. You have a celeb crush. Get over it and move on.

**reply from thelastofme: **Wouldn't put it so harshly but agreed. Like I have an ex who got her big break and now she's starring in webflicks movies and making mad bank. I'm not gonna suddenly have an epiphany that what we had was a true blue romance. Move on, find someone else and you'll be happier.

**reply from The Alphazone: **I can't! I've tried already! Fuck it, I'll just go see her at her work. If I can make my case face-to-face she'll understand.

**reply from thelastofme: **Poor Spinerette. No wonder she made her dating profile private...

* * *

**Second part of the prison arc done along with our first Echo POV. We at least get a bit more context on her backstory. Writing her was difficult since she can't be as emotional as the other POV characters so I tried to make her narration robotic and barely there to contrast the much more personalized main characters. We only get some brief glimpses of characterization. **

**Some people were probably hoping for more inmate interactions or seeing one who wanted to repent but putting it in a maximum security prison made it difficult. Generally speaking places like these are full of the worst kind of scum. We at least get Ezekiel, who was a last minute addition. If Spider Island wins then I can definitely tie him to it. **

**And yes I totally stole the inmates fight from Daredevil S3. I did add some changes to it, though, so it's kind of its own thing. At the very least DD didn't strangle someone with a stethoscope...**

**Questions:**

**1\. So what do you guys think, finish up the prison arc first or take a break outside with Gwen doing her college thing/tackling Morbius? People seemed to want lighter stuff judging by the Cindy omake.**

**2\. Speaking of omakes, would you guys be interested in one for Noir and Mary Jane? Unlike the Lana and Cindy ones it'll be much darker in tone due to taking place in an alternate version of the Carnage arc. Rather than marriage (Lana) or continued dating (Cindy)**** it would be much more uncertain. Especially if I tackle it as a cheating scenario like Gwen assumed it to be. **

**Someone also suggested Peter/Murdock, but I don't think that'd work...**

**Review answers:**

**Saint Danielle: I...don't think peter/matt is viable. As for another peter/lana, not sure what it'd be about.**

**rc48177: Chapter 112 of Looking Glass.**

**Hardlight: No prob. Hopefully you review future chapters :) **


	48. Lots of shivs

**Faster update. I really wanted to finish up the prison arc and deal with the Bullseye and Noir fight. It wasn't as 'epic' as I wanted it to be but hopefully people are fine with it. **

**Next arc will be the Morbius one and I did some tweaks. Explained more in the ending AN. For now just read this one and I hope you all enjoy it :) **

* * *

Peter had tangled with every kind of monster and crazy ever since he got 'taken' to this madhouse. Petty criminals who just wanted a buck, so-called criminal masterminds who fancied themselves rules and anyone else in-between. The supervillains were the worst. Clowns in costumes who decided that they could do whatever the hell they wanted, damn the innocent people that got hurt.

"Jack..."

And above even them Jack was the king. Matt made his life hell, broke him to the point that he just wanted to end it all and took Bullseye on top, but he was a demon. It didn't change anything but...knowing that was a reminder. That all this evil, all the monstrosity that came from him, was because of something made for it. Didn't make it better, but it was understandable. Didn't expect a demon to be anything less.

Jack was different. No powers, no twisted possession, nothing. He was just a crazy, mad bastard that decided it was his life's mission to ruin everything Peter had. No demons, no grand reason, just plain human cruelty and spite. And for a while it worked. Because of him the city knew exactly who Spider-Man was, that the Parkers had to uproot and start a new life elsewhere because staying in the city would've been a death sentence.

And now he was here. Propped up on display like a mangled prize.

Jack's demented grin somehow widened and he laughed. It sounded like the rasps of a dying animal, "I knew it was you!" He moved, just barely, but the cage held firm. It was a demented contraption, seeming to match its owner. A metal thing that wrapped itself around him like a vice leaving no trace of flesh open safe for a few bits around his wrists, upper arms and neck. And even those were wrapped around with needles and wires pumping some kind of fluid into him. Life support of some kind?

"Huh..." Peter narrowed his eyes and gripped the shiv tighter. It was silly, the way his heart raced in an adrenaline fueled rush. Jack was helpless. He didn't kill him all those months ago but it might have been a mercy if he did. He wasn't alive, not really. Looking at him now it was obvious that his body was more a coffin than anything else. Just somebody waiting to die.

And all that was waiting for him was the inferno.

"Is that all you have to say?" Jack rasped. He sounded even worse than he did a year ago. The words were barely legible and it was as if he had to choke every word out like he was being choked, "All this time waiting for you to come visit and this is what I get? I'm disappointed."

"Get used to that feeling, Jack. That's what the rest of your miserable life's going to be till you finally croak."

"Aww, still playing tough? That's the Peter I know!" He tried to laugh again. Instead what came out were raspy coughs and Peter winced at the flecks of blood that hit his face, "Sorry if I couldn't dress up. You rode me a bit too hard on our last date. Still feeling it."

"How the hell are you still alive...?" He didn't kill him, but he honestly expected him to die anyway after the beating he took.

"Wonders of modern medicine." He tilted his head slightly to emphasize the stretched, leathery skin of his neck and the wired needle attached to it, "They've got this stuff in me to make sure I don't croak just yet. Warden says I'm a warning to everyone who thinks it can't get any worse. Personally I think he's just angry I killed his hubby last year. Some people take things so personal."

"You deserve worse." Sometimes it was hard to figure out if he hated him more than Matt.

"So nice to know you think of me." He tried to lean forward. The metal cage kept him bound tight but he didn't seem to care, "This place ain't so bad, though. I just wish you left me one of my eyes so I can see you again. You left me one of my ears, at least, so I can still hear your voice."

"That can be changed." He fingered the side of the shiv. Wouldn't take much to slide it up towards his right ear and stab. Then he really would've just been in a fleshy coffin.

"Tease." Peter scowled. Nothing ever fazed the demented bastard, "So, what took you so long to visit? I was waitin' for you ever since our magical day at the carnival. Don't tell me you went crawling back to Spider-Woman? You know she's no good for you!"

"..." He bit his tongue to keep from snapping back. He was always like this. Just like Matt the slack-jawed bastard had a way of getting under his skin. Even now when both of them were the size of figurines and he was stuck in that cage nothing changed. The year of isolation didn't seem like it affected him at all and there were still desperate clowns who worshiped the ground he walked on.

"Giving me the silent treatment, huh? I'm disappointed." He sighed. Peter half-expected him to spit out more blood, "So what is it now? What made you shrink yourself down just to see me again?"

"What makes you think you're the reason I'm here?"

"Did you find somebody else? Haha, no way! No one could ever love you as much as I do!" Peter grit his teeth and pressed the edge of the shiv to Jack's neck, "Oooh, getting kinky! This reminds me of our last date! Come on! Push it in! I can take it!"

Peter growled and was about to cut his throat open when he heard footsteps behind him, "What the...?" He turned back and scowled at the dozen prisoners stepped in with all the confidence of people who had victory handed to them.

He recognized them all. Those bastards who were in that warehouse he went to after the train station bombing. The one in front in particular was familiar. He was the clown who practically wet his pants before he dropped him from the rafters. Now he looked different, exposed arms covered in pumpkin tattoos and his scrawny physique replaced with someone who had to shape up or die.

"Heh, the old hag was right." he said, mouth open in a nasty sneer, "David Walters, or do I call you Spider-Man?"

"Back off." Peter stepped to Jack's left side and pressed the tip of the shiv against the laughing maniac's head, "Get any closer and your idol chokes on his own blood."

His sneer was immediately replaced by a scowl, "...You kill him and you die."

"What, and you'll just let me go if I don't? Not likely." He pressed harder till the shiv broke skin and drops of blood came down, "Doesn't take anything to stab him. At least he'll still be dead."

The leader's scowl worsened and he looked like he was about to order them to back off when one of the other Lanterns - a short, twitchy guy who looked like he'd been on the wrong end of a few needles - suddenly screeched and charged towards him. His spider-sense blared and he took the shiv away from Jack's neck so he could defend himself.

He was tackled to the ground with the deranged gremlin screeching and clawing at him. Peter grit his teeth and batted away his frenzied strikes as best he could. Through the writing figure he just barely saw most of the Lanterns rushing to join him while a couple focused on trying to get their idol down, "Get...off!" He stabbed the trashing madman in the neck twice, blood splurting and hitting him in the face, and shoved him off.

He tried to stand only to get a kick to the face, his spider-sense blaring uselessly. The back of Peter's head slammed against the ground and he barely had time to brace himself before nine of the bastards started punching and kicking at whatever they could hit.

He couldn't do anything but curl in on himself and try to weather through it, _'Now'd be a good time to come back, Spider-God!'_ he screamed mentally. Another kick to his side cause his head to jerk upwards and the next hit to his jaw had hid him seeing stars.

Two of the Lanterns grabbed him by his arms and pulled him to a kneeling position. His vision swam and it took everything he had to glare up at the lead Lantern's smirking face. Without a word he grabbed the shiv Peter dropped and made a deep cut on his cheek. Peter didn't scream even when he pressed two fingers in and tore away a part of the mask roughly.

The Lantern tore off the rest of the mask and his smirk widened to something grotesque, "You have any idea how long I've been waiting for this?" He grabbed the back of Peter's head and made him face up, "They threw me in here because you caught me. I was just a kid who wanted to have a little bit of fun. You really think that I deserved to be put in prison for the next 25 years?"

Peter spat blood right into his left eye.

"Rrrgh! You son of a bitch!" He pressed the shiv against Peter's neck, "I'm gonna-"

The two lantern's holding him suddenly fell to the ground. Peter just barely caught the small bits of metal impaled on their foreheads before two more behind him fell, "What the-" The leader turned back to the entrance. Peter grabbed both legs and, with a desperate pull, the both of them fell to the ground with Peter on top. He grabbed the fallen shiv and, ignoring the screams of the dying Lanterns around him, stabbed the blade into his back three times.

Peter coughed, the taste of blood on his tongue, and looked around. All of the Lanterns were dead, even the ones trying to get the Jack's cage mobile. He turned to his savior and coughed again when the smiling figure offered him a hand.

"Fancy seeing you here, kid." Bullseye grinned down at him. His face was covered in blood, but he knew enough from experience to figure it wasn't his. Peter looked at the offered hand blankly, "Ah come on, I ain't gonna stab ya! If I was your fancy spider-sense would've warned you."

"..." Peter held his hand and the older man pulled him up cheerily, "See, that wasn't so hard!" He clapped Peter on the shoulder and whistled at the bodies around them, "I knew I'd see you, but I didn't think I'd be comin' to your rescue again. What happened? Big, bad Spider-Man really did lose his powers?"

"You already know the answer to that." Peter held onto the shiv tightly. He wasn't an idiot - the chances of him being able to win a fight against Bullseye head-on without his powers was already slim, but after the beating the Lanterns gave him? "...Aren't you here to kill me?"

"Huh? Well technically I'm here for this guy." He gestured to the bound Jack. The bastard was still laughing his head off, "You know the old bat's been usin' his fanboys to try and stir shit up in the city. Well, he thinks we can use him to go on a recruitment run. You know, 'here's your fucked up Jesus, now go and die for us!' sort of thing. Wouldn't be the first time she used that kind of thing."

"...You're going to take him, then?" He wasn't sure if he could stop him even if he wanted to.

"Ooh, are we going on a field trip!? Lemme pack my things!" Jack cackled.

Bullseye took one look at Jack's bloody, emaciated body and said, "Nope." Jack actually stopped laughing at that. If it were any other situation Peter would've found it funny, "In fact, I'm just gonna do a little something and..."

He pulled out a paperclip and, without a care, flicked it to the left wall. The plastic ricocheted against the metal surface and slipped between Jack's mask and hit his right ear. Jack screamed at that, thrashing against his cage as blood dribbled down the side of his head.

"...Why the hell did you do that?"

"Cause I don't care what that old bitch wants. And I wanted some privacy." His smile was malicious and all too familiar, "See, she brought me back to kill you. And I can totally agree with that. But she honestly thinks I care about making sure she and her Illuminati wannabes stay on top? No. She gets this guy on her side and she'll get a bunch of assholes with nothing to lose trying to kill you. And why should I let them have all that fun?"

"I thought-"

"What? She brainwashed me? Well, kinda. Thing is without Matty boy's demon on their side they ain't exactly the best at it. Figure that's why their old pet went over to your side." Echo... "She thinks she's got me right under her thumb."

"If she doesn't then why are you doing this?" Why did he attack Lana?

"I already told you. Pay attention, kid." He slapped the side of his face mockingly, "I wanna kill you. You and Matty boy. I wanna hurt you till you're practically beggin' for me to end it," he said it so calmly and without a care, "While I was burnin' down there getting pitchforks shoved up my ass you and him were having a fun old time up here, weren't you?"

"I only did that so you wouldn't stay down there."

"Bit too late for that, isn't it?" He shrugged, "But hey, no harm no foul. I mean I'm still gonna kill you both but we don't have to make it this big, sad thing." He nudged his head to the entrance, "Now come on, let's get you outta here."

"...What?"

"Let's get outta here. Gonna make sure you survive this."

"And why the hell do you wanna do that?"

"Cause killing you now ain't gonna give me anything," he said, looking at Peter like he was stupid, "Sure I could kill you right here, and I doubt you can stop me, but then what? That's boring! I wanna fight with Spider-Man, the kid who fought every damn criminal this city could throw at him and came out on top! I don't wanna kill some guy holding a knife like safety blanket!"

"So you're willing to completely ignore Gao just because you want to kill me 'better'?"

"Ding ding ding, we have a winner!" He clapped mockingly, "I told you I don't care what she wants. She'll scream that she's the one with all the cards but really she's just a desperate old bat trying to stay on top. See she's not like Matty boy's old demon buddy. She can't just pull the plug and make me dead the second she doesn't like what I'm doing. Pretty stupid of her, but like I said she's desperate. Thinks cause we're old pals I can kill you better."

"And she didn't realize someone like you can't be controlled." Meaning everything he did - that fight in the subway and the attack at the FEAST shelter - was all his choice in the end.

"Exactamundo. Now, can we get the hell out of here so we can go back to killing each other proper? Listening to your old boyfriend scream is pissing me off."

Peter looked back at Jack. He'd stopped screaming now. Instead he was calling out his name, wondering if he was still there. He was tempted to finish what he started earlier and cut his throat. Would've been simple now, and he deserved it more than anyone else in the room.

But why make his trip to hell short?

"...Fine. Lead the way."

* * *

**Silly Crow: **So one thing I don't get: how does **Spider-Man** have so many friends?

**Reply from Dark Bunny: **wdym?

**Reply from Silly Crow: **Like he keeps leading groups like the **Defenders** and according to **EPFrog's **post he was hanging out with **Spider-Woman, Striker, Scarlet Spider** and **Spinerette** after the hospital incident. But every time we see him on camera he acts like a major prick. How does a guy like this hang out with anyone?

**Reply from Ben Vogel: **Well the Defenders were all anti-heroes, right? For the other four...he's going out with Spider-Woman and Striker was a former Defender, so there's that. Dunno why Spinerette and Scarlet Spider are friends with him, though.

**Reply from No1SpiderManFan: **We don't see what he's like 24/7! I bet you he's got a nicer side. I made some interviewer **here** and a few people in Hell's Kitchen said he was pretty nice to them. One guy even saw him trying to cheer up a kid who was crying.

**Reply from Silly Crow: **Still really fucking weird that he has so many people working with him...

* * *

Echo ducked behind the table as one of the prisoners passed by. She had hoped to blend in, perhaps come up Moonstone then take her out without her noticing, but the Hand had already made countermeasures for that. Gao had exposed all their identities to the prisoners and, while she hadn't done anything to garner their ire like the rest of the group, her former taskmaster had promised that any that ensured her demise would be allowed an escape.

Which made her current task far more...difficult.

Echo grabbed the passing inmate and, after a brief struggle, jammed the shiv into her neck. The prisoner briefly choked, hands grasping at the air uselessly, before Echo dragged her bleeding body behind the table out of sight.

Finding her way to Moonstone was proving troublesome. Rioting prisoners stalked the halls and even now she was forced to duck into a corner office in order to avoid a large cluster, save one who stayed behind to try and loot the room, "..." She looked around the room and eyed the ventilation shaft at the right corner of the room. Crude, but it would suffice.

She hopped up on a nearby bookshelf and gripped the bars. A few tugs later and it came down with dry squeak, "What was that?" someone outside asked. Guard or prisoner; either way they wouldn't treat her well. Echo flipped up the shaft and closed the vent just in time for a group of six prisoners to barge into the room. An easy enough fight, but one that served no purpose.

She crawled along the shaft and made sure not to draw attention to herself. Traveling in such a way was limiting but it was better than getting into needless fights that were better avoided.

She stopped over one of the open vents and narrowed her eyes the dead guard slumped against the wall, "..." She jumped down and quickly searched the woman's pockets. Pointless - all her weaponry was already looted despite being built for her size - but the oversized keycard drew her attention. While most of the doors were already opened due to the riot it could prove useful.

The door opened behind her and two prisoners came in, "Hey, we should-"

Echo charged and slammed the first one against the wall before stabbing the shiv into forehead. The second prisoner stumbled back in surprise and Echo immediately grabbed her by the head and snapped her neck. It was possible that they wouldn't know who she was but she couldn't afford that possibility.

_"Good girl."_

The side of Echo's mouth twitched and she ignored the translucent figure of Bakuto - her former master - clapping sarcastically. These visions were...inconvenient, "..." She returned to the vent and followed the noise of the riots. Her goal was Moonstone, but any of the Gifted were fair game. Gao wasn't particularly choosy when it came to which bodies she threw into her battles.

Eventually she stopped over another room. This one looked to be a break room of some kind for their wardens judging by the size of the tables and the furniture. And at the center of it all was her target, one hand holding a phone against her ear while the other held onto a weakly struggling guard's neck, "Heh, too easy." Moonstone smiled as she took out the last, barely twitching guard and looked over her handiwork. Echo counted at least half a dozen dead guards from her vantage point, "Is that good enough for a test run?"

"It is satisfactory." That was Gao's voice, "You know the rendezvous location. Go there and you will have your freedom in exchange for-"

"For helping you kill Spider-Man. Heard you the first time." She cut the call and scoffed, "Desperate old bat..." she muttered. Echo took another glance at her surrounding. Apart from the dead guards there were two inmates slumped over on a nearby desk.

Echo opened the vent and dropped down silently. According to the information she was given this woman was as vulnerable to blades as with any other human. One hit in the proper place would suffice.

Echo made to stab her at the base of her neck when Moonstone suddenly took to the air, "Nice try!" She grinned and shot concentrated light from her palms. Echo flipped back to avoid the attack and gripped the shiv tighter, "Heh, the old bat told me about you. Said you'd try and stop me." She gathered light in her palms again, "It's nothing personal, just so you know."

Dodging the next attack, Echo jumped behind an upturned table. The metal dented from the force of the impact and the table pinned her against the wall when it was suddenly pushed back by another blast, "Ngh..." She grit her teeth and kicked the table away.

Moonstone landed on the ground and sneered, "Let's just make this quick! I want to get out of here!" Another blast. Echo ran to her and, after dodging two more shots, quickly brought the shiv up to slice her neck. Her sneer turned into a grin and the knife passed through her harmlessly.

"Nice try." Faster than any human could, she reached her left hand out and grabbed Echo by the neck. She lifted her up with one hand while the other prepared another blast, "Now let's-"

Echo grabbed her thumb and twisted it back. Her cocky expression was replaced by a painful scream, which was also cut off when Echo flipped back and kicked her in the jaw, "You fucking bitch!" Echo grabbed one of the inmate's bodies and used it as a shield against her next attack. She shut her eyes to protect them from the splatter of blood then, once the attack ceased, tossed the freshly bleeding body towards her opponent.

The body passed through without making contact but it was enough to give her an opening. Moonstone flickered back to a normal state just before Echo slashed across the length of her stomach, "Agh! You fucking-" The next punch was aimed for Echo's head. She dodged the fast, but clumsy blow and hid behind another, "Stop running!"

It appeared her intangibility could be held only for a brief moment. That would suffice.

Echo charged for her again. She dodged the first two blasts of light only for the third to graze her right cheek. The flesh burned but she continued on. Moonstone's eyes widened and she became intangible, causing Echo to pass through her and head straight for the wall.

Before she made contact she changed course and ran up the wall before jumping back. Moonstone looked back only to see her leap overhead and throw the shiv at the base of her neck.

Moonstone's scream was brief and quickly interrupted when Echo grabbed her shoulders as she landed and slammed her against the ground. The shiv was ground deeper into the wound and Echo stomped on her neck one last time to make sure.

"Wh...what did you...?" She tried to fire, tried to move, but her body remained still and the blasts fired off harmlessly from her paralyzed hands, "D-Did you just-"

Echo ignored her desperate pleas and picked up another weapon - another makeshift knife - from one of the dead prisoners and stalked closer to her. Moonstone's previous bravado was replaced by fear, by promises of not truly planning to kill her or other such pleas. She'd heard it all too many times. Rare was the one who faced death with any sort of dignity rather than restoring to begging and crying.

She made it quick. One stab in the forehead and another in the chest where her heart lay. Echo watched the blood pool around her feet and and let out a soft breath, "..." Simple enough. Perhaps Echo had overestimated her. The Hand believed the powers of the Gifted was what would tip the scales, but what good was power to those who didn't know how to use it? Spider-Man, Daredevil, Moon Knight and Daniel. It wasn't their powers or technology that made them such difficult opponents.

_"You would know, wouldn't you?"_ Bakuto's voice said once more. Echo ignored it, _"Your daughter's more powerful than you could ever hope to be but she doesn't know how to use her gifts. We could've taught her."_

The feeling of the collar against her neck suddenly felt suffocating. Echo picked up the shiv and, after a minute of adjustment, popped the metal off. It was time for her to reunite with the others.

* * *

**Medium Sized Dan:** So let me get this straight, **Matt Murdock** the former Kingpin claims he was possessed by the devil and suddenly he gets off completely scott free? Dafaq?

**Reply from ZombieWeiss: **Where've you been the last couple months? Yeah, he was possessed. Your remember the big freaking demon in Times Square? Pretty big proof right there.

**Reply from Moma v.: **Op has a point though. Murdock says he's possessed and suddenly I'm supposed to believe that he's totally blameless and it wasn't his fault? Sounds like a big load of BS to me.

**Reply from GwenTheDrummerStacy: **Definitely. There's no way that Murdock bastard is this innocent guy who just got caught up in it.

**Reply from Brian P.: **Oh yeah didn't your dad put the Wilson Fisk in jail?

**Reply from GwenTheDrummerStacy: **Yeah, and it's complete bullshit that Murdock just cops a plea deal and gets a fancy penthouse in Midtown. He belongs in jail.

**Reply from ZombieWeiss: **I dunno. If he's really possessed then you're just putting an innocent man in jail.

**Reply from Briar Rose: **I'm more pissed at everyone copying his lead. Just look online and you've got dozens of people saying there were possessed and didn't mean to rape that woman or kill that guy. It's a joke.

* * *

Peter cut the prisoner's throat then stabbed him in the gut. He felt blood on his hands and the dying gurgle brought out a small sense of guilt. Not for them - they didn't deserve it - but for Gwen. Despite her claims of trying to change his and Mary's minds through her own actions he could tell it hurt her knowing that they piled bodies when she wasn't looking.

Especially considering who he was working with now...

Off to the left, Bullseye clamped his left hand over the inmate's mouth then jammed his own knife into the poor bastard's right eye socket. He struggled and screamed, trying to knock Bullseye away, but the older man just grinned and continued to hold him in place till he eventually stopped moving.

"Ha." He wiped his bloodstained hands on his face, smearing blood all across it. Down here, surrounded by dead criminals with barely any innocent people in sight, it reminded him of the old Bullseye. The self-confessed son of a bitch who tried to make the world a better place one corpse at a time, "Good job, kid. Looks like you didn't lose everything, huh?"

Peter didn't say anything and just walked on ahead. They both agreed to cut through the mess hall then go their separate ways from there. Moon Knight had their extraction planned out and it was pointless going after Murakami now in the state he was in. He thought they would've gotten a chance to get him alone, but with this riot there was no way that was happening now.

Speaking of...

"How the hell did Gao pull this off?"

"Hm?"

"This riot..." he muttered, "There are people outside. Alarms are ringing, they should be coming in now."

"What do you think? Just greasing the right palms." Bullseye shrugged and walked past him, "You're right. Any riot'll go bad once the giants outside realize what's happening. But what happens if the guy manning the alarms just 'slips' and makes sure that no one outside can see anything? And what if that same guy fixed the camera feed so for anyone else looking in it's business as usual?"

"It's that easy, hm?"

"You should know better than anyone. Doesn't matter how airtight something is; there'll always be that one guy you can break or bribe to make sure he fucks it up for everyone else. Or did you actually buy that the system actually works now?"

"...Point." He sighed and trudged ahead so they could walked side by side. A part of him wondered if he could just raise his hand and stab him in the side of the head right now. Just one hit and-

_"Heh...bullseye."_

"Hey, kid, you alright?" He shook his head to wave off the images of Matt's grinning face and turned to look back at Bullseye. The tattooed man's face was still locked in an easy grin, "What's wrong? Hearing the voices again?"

"I'm fine."

He grit his teeth and scowled when he saw three more inmates - Lanterns - looting the bodies of what looked like two nurses as soon as he rounded the corner. They weren't looking at them, "On you, Spidey." Bullseye laughed. Peter ignored him and, after making sure they were too busy looting to notice him, stabbed the closest one at the back of his head.

The other two noticed their friend's death throes just in time for Bullseye to shoot them both down with two more bits of plastic. Peter knocked the inmate to the ground and stabbed him in the chest two times for good measure. He saw the light fade from the man - who looked barely older than Peter himself - and his cheek suddenly throbbed from the fresh cut. Damn Lanterns.

"Nice job." Bullseye gave him a thumbs up. Peter ignored how familiar that was, "Just like old times, huh?"

"Hm..." The mess hall was close. Once they got past there they'd go their separate ways, "...Let's keep moving."

"Whatever you say, kid."

The mess hall wasn't empty. Not that he expected it to be considering the state the prison was in now, but seeing eight inmates with that wheelchaired mook Hammerhead at the center was still a nasty surprise, "Knew you was comin'." His ugly mug moved to an even uglier smile and his eyes shifted from Peter to Bullseye, "Thought you weren't friends with him anymore?"

"This is what you'd call a temporary alliance." Bullseye held his hands up, "So what say you gentlemen get out of our way? Spidey dyin' right here wouldn't really make me happy, ya know? So do me a favor and make sure you don't try and kill yourselves."

"Hah. Funny." He nodded to the assorted goons. Most of them were the garden variety thugs but two drew his attention - a guy with fiery skin and a big boy who looked like he gargled steroids packing a sledgehammer. Those two were gonna be trouble, "See, we don't give a shit what you want. We're getting Spider-Man, and if you don't like it we'll go through you too."

Bullseye gave him a wry, amused look then, without any warning, threw two paperclips that hit two of the mooks right in the eye.

All hell broke loose after that. Peter ran to the right while Bullseye went to the left, "Shit...!" He slid across the table and grabbed a tray as he passed. He threw the metal square straight at one of their heads and ducked the punch that came from another. He stabbed him twice in the stomach and kicked him away just before another three came for him.

Bullseye wasn't faring much better. He took down another goon just in time for the big galoot to throw him against the wall with a painful crack, "Bullseye!" He threw his shiv at the mook's back, giving Bullseye a chance to recover.

Why did he...

"Hey, get him already!" Hammerhead screamed. Damn it, he had to focus. The firestarter aimed a blast of fire directly at him. Gritting his teeth, he grabbed the closest inmate and used him as a human shield.

The desperate, dying shriek was nothing compared to the smell of burning smell that wafted up his nostrils. Peter let the flaming body go just in time for two of inmates to grab his arms and hold him in place, "Hold him steady!" The firestarter screamed, preparing another fireball.

A flash of metal caught his eye and the one holding onto his left side suddenly fell, a sharp piece of metal - his shiv - jutting out of the side of his head, "You me one!" Bullseye shouted. Peter threw the other prisoner into the next fireball's path and, after grabbing the impaled shiv, ducked under the tables before he could get hit again.

Peter got out from under the table and grabbed the closest thing, a metal cup, and bashed firestarter in the jaw. It was enough to knock him off balance and gave Peter a chance to stab him in the side of the neck three times.

"You useless mooks! There's just two of them! Do your goddamned job!" Hammerhead screamed again. There were just three left - two more mooks and the big guy with the sledgehammer.

Bullseye threw one more projectile - a card - and slicked one mook's throat while Peter took the other. One stab to the gut and he was on the ground before Peter straddled him and bashed his head against the floor twice. Might've been unconscious, might've been dead. Didn't matter.

His spider-sense blared and he looked to the right just in time to see the giant with the sledgehammer raised. Peter grit his teeth and willed his body to move, but he knew he wouldn't make it.

"Comin' through!" Bullsye shoved him out of the way. Peter rolled along the ground and looked up with wide eyes as the sledgehammer hit Bullseye in the left arm, "Shit, that smarts!" His left arm hung limply. The roided goon pulled back for another hit when Bullseye grabbed the fallen shiv and stabbed him straight in the right knee.

Bullseye pulled the knife back and threw it to Peter as the goon went down on one knee. Peter jumped on the giant's back and started stabbing, piercing at whatever flesh he could reach. Bullseye stumbled back and watched with a grin as the big guy went down while he just kept stabbing to make sure he was dead.

It was only after the seventh stab that he finally stopped. Peter stood up shakily, panting and shaking, and glared at Hammerhead. Egotistical moron was still there, "Hey, you don't mind if I take this one, do you? I feel like I deserve it?" Bullseye gestured to the limp, useless arm.

"...Go ahead."

"Thanks!"

Peter watched as Bullseye grabbed the sledgehammer and dragged it to where Hammerhead was desperately trying to roll away. The first hit broke his jaw and the next ones broke his arms. Peter looked away as Bullseye finished up his 'fun', "Damn it..." He reached a hand to his back and clicked his tongue at the stinging pain. Didn't even notice someone cut him.

By the time Bullseye was done Hammerhead was a broken, twitching mess who had more blood outside than in. He grinned and set the hammer down, "Ah, that felt nice!" He looked back at Peter with a grin, "You still got all your parts, kid?"

"Yeah..." Bullseye saved him. Twice.

"Right. Let's get the hell outta here then."

They ended up on the nearby shower room. Mostly cause it was empty and partially to try and wash the blood - both theirs and others - off. Bullseye turned on all the showers and breathed a sigh of relief as the water washed away the red from his skin and jumpsuit. Peter kept his distance, eyeing the limp, broken arm and the bloody shiv he held in his hand.

"...What are you going to do after this?"

"Hm?"

"After we get out. What are you planning to do?" If he just went after him and Matt...Peter could live with it.

"Depends. Probably have to go after a few of Gao's unmentionables." He shrugged with one arm, "I don't care what Gao wants but I gotta play ball _sometimes_. She's gonna be pretty pissed she couldn't get that Jack-o-Lantern guy." He hummed, "I dunno, maybe I'll pay Lana a visit again. Heard she got out of the hospital. Or maybe someone else you're friends with. I wanna make our fight real personal. Gotta make it dramatic, ya know?"

Drama. That was why he did this. Why he helped him escape and why he put Lana in the hospital. It was all a show to him.

Peter took a deep breath and stepped closer. Bullseye showed no care at his closing footsteps.

"...I can't let you leave." Bullseye stopped, just for a second, and turned back slightly to look at him, "If all you're going to do is kill people once you're out then I might as well stop you here and now." He crushed down any sense of gratitude he felt. This wasn't Bullseye. His friend was dead.

"This really how you wanna end it? And here I thought we were doing so well." He sighed dramatically and turned to face him fully, "This ain't how I wanted it to go. You don't have your powers and I'm down to one good arm. Don't even have any clips left. This is gonna be one lame fight."

"Fine with me."

"Heh...alright then."

Bullseye aimed a punch straight at his face. Peter moved back to avoid the hit and slashed his chest. The cut was shallow and the blood was immediately washed away by the rush of water around them.

"Nice hit!"

Bullseye suddenly tackled him to the ground, grabbing at the wrist of the arm holding onto the shiv with one hand while he pinned down the over with his leg. They struggled against the ground, Bullseye laughing all the while, before Peter finally managed to loosen his grip, "Let...go!" Peter slashed the side of his face and, as Bullseye stumbled back, charged forward and stabbed his right shoulder.

Bullseye pulled back, taking the impaled shiv with him, "Hey, come on! At least go for the arm that's already broke!" Peter clenched his hands into tight fists and moved forward to hit him. Bullseye dodged effortlessly, grabbed his outstretched arm and tossed him to the wall.

He didn't get a chance to move before Bullseye grabbed the side of his head and bashed it against the wall. His head was smashed three times before, vision swimming, Bullseye made him face forward choking his neck, "Come on, look at me!" Bullseye cried, staring down at him with manic glee, "If you wanted to have our match early at least gimme that! Come on!"

Peter grabbed desperately, pushing against Bullseye's head before his grip hardened and he found it harder to move. Peter opened his mouth, desperately trying to breath, but the only sounds that came were desperate gasps. Bullseye's manic grin widened and he leaned closer till their faces were practically touching. Peter's vision swam and everything was going black.

Using his last burst of energy, he grabbed the handle of the impaled shiv and pulled it out of Bullseye's shoulder. His look of surprise was cut short when Peter desperately stabbed him in the thigh and twisted.

"Ahh, shit!" Peter tried to shove him off only for Bullseye to suddenly headbutt him. Peter's vision swam again and he barely noticed Bullseye pull him back and punch him in the jaw.

They both fell to the ground. Peter covered his bleeding lip and leaned against the wall while Bullseye looked down at his freshly impaled thigh, "Bullseye..." Peter tried to stand, but the collected injuries were too much. It took everything he had not to just collapse on the ground.

"Hah...you _really_ wanna kill me, huh?" Bullseye grinned, teeth bloody, "Good, that's good. It'll make our real fight much better."

"You-"

"Hold onto this for me, will you?" He pulled out the shiv and threw it straight at Peter's right shoulder. Peter screamed, curling in on himself and pressing harder against the wall while Bullseye, somehow, managed to stand up, "That'll be your reminder. Make sure to get your powers back quick cause I wanna fight you for real." He looked back, "Heh...well, it's been fun. See you around, kid."

Bullseye turned to leave. Peter grasped the hilt and almost pulled the shiv out before thinking better of it. He'd bleed out, "Bullseye..." he said, voice so soft he was sure the other man didn't hear him. Bullseye stopped anyway, "...I'm going to kill you. Next time we see each other you're _dead_."

"Same here. See you around, Pete."

And then he was gone. Peter didn't know how long he sat there, water dripping down around him as he flitted in and out of consciousness, but eventually he heard a familiar voice, "I've got him." Peter looked up and and saw Matt's face. His telltale grin was gone, replaced with a barely restrained frown. A quick look at his jumpsuit showed cuts and tears not too far off from what Peter had.

"Matt..."

"Don't talk. Your wounds are rather grievous." He slung Peter's left arm around his shoulder and pulled him up, "The mission's a failure. Murakami escaped with his fresh recruits and this place will be our tomb if he stay."

"Bullseye, he-"

"I suggest you save the debrief for later. Come, Moon Knight made contact with both Spider-Woman and Spinerette. They'll be extracting us. Just grit your teeth and hold on till then."

* * *

**Numbah_5**: So I just came back after a week away and apparently **Susan Storm's** one of the **Gifted**?!

**Reply from Angel Santana**: Yep. Apparently she got exposed to some kind of new Terrigen Mist and got powers. **Johnny Storm** made a blog post about it **here**.

**Reply from kirabook: **That's crazy. She's already a big celeb and now she's got superpowers too? Some people get all the luck.

**Reply from spartan211: **I heard that her role in the upcoming **Cyberpunk 2099 **movie's being re-written! Can't wait to see what they do with it!

**Reply from J ri: **I heard a rumor that her and **Striker **are going to do some team-up hero stuff! That's gonna be awesome!

* * *

Being back in Gwen's apartment was a bittersweet feeling. It was safe, more than any other place in the city, but the fact that he was still stuck at 3 inches tall dampened any sense of homecoming he might have felt, "We're here..." Gwen whispered. She deposited him and Matt at the living room table and reluctantly sat on the couch nearby. She was careful handling them all the way back. Even if she didn't care about Matt she needed someone the same size to help look over him.

Cindy took Moon Knight, Rand and Echo with her. Apparently they had other arrangements.

"Are you okay?" Gwen asked.

"Mmm." Peter gestured slightly. It wasn't much considering his size but it was something, "...Where are the grow particles?"

"Uh...actually, about that-"

"I'm afraid we'll be in this state for a while yet, Peter." Matt hummed. Despite his numerous injuries he didn't show any signs of weakness or fatigue, "Moon Knight's safehouse was raided and they took the particles he had stashed for our return. Wasp herself is currently dealing with the aftermath of our failed operation and won't be in any position to return us to our normal size."

"She said we could swing by tomorrow," Gwen added. Peter winced and tried to ignore how loud her voice was even as she whispered, "We should...look at your wounds first."

"I'm fine-"

"No, you're not." Arguing with Gwen was hard at the best of times. It was impossible now considering he was barely the size of her pinky.

"As much as it might displease our host, I agree with her," Matt said, "Lucky for you Moon Knight prepared supplies just for this occurrence." Of course he did. Guy was crazy enough to have kid's clothes on hand just in case they took a dip in the fountain of youth, "We should have enough here to ensure our wounds don't kill us in our sleep."

"...Does he have whiskey, at least?"

"Afraid not. I'm afraid you'll have to make do with painkillers."

Gwen set down the supplies next to them and watched warily as Peter lowered the top half of the jumpsuit and pulled the dark shirt underneath over his head. As soon as the fabric was over his head she gasped, "...That bad?" Stupid question. It would've been a miracle if he didn't look like ground meat by now.

"I can't see the same way as Ms. Stacy, but judging by your heart rate and the way your muscles move? Yes, it's 'bad'." Matt handed him the shrunken medical kit, "There are sutures, disinfectant and anything else you'll need. I suggest healing yourself as best you can before doing anything else."

"Thanks for the advice, Sherlock..." He swallowed a little over the recommended dosage of painkillers then wiped away what blood remained on the shoulder wound with disinfectant. From behind him Gwen bit her lip and looked like she wanted to do something only to barely hold herself back. As much as she wanted to help him it wouldn't have been a good idea considering his state.

He sewed up the slice as best he could. The stitching was crude and wasn't what he would call neat, but it'd get the job done. Again he found himself wishing for the Spider-God to appear in his dreams again. Back there in the shower room, as he was flitting in and out of consciousness, he felt it trying to reach him. Hopefully that meant his powers were coming back soon.

"...Could I-"

"I would recommend against that, Ms. Stacy," Matt said coolly. He was wrapping a bandage against a circular wound on his right wrists, "I imagine someone like you has broken her fair share of dolls and I would hate to see Peter suffer the same fate."

"Go fuck yourself. The only reason you're here-"

"Is because Peter cannot cover all of his own wounds. I'm well aware," Matt interrupted, "I may be an unwanted guest but could I suggest you please lower your voice? Given my delicate sense of hearing it's rather disturbing."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Is that better?" she asked back mockingly, making sure to raise her pitch with every word.

"Mock me if you wish, but I will need focus to ensure your boyfriend doesn't bleed to death." Peter had to admit, he was almost impressed. Gwen was stronger than Matt normally but even now when she could literally crush him like a bug he didn't seem to notice or care, "Now if you're done with such petty actions, could I ask that you get us some water and a rag? Not unless you want blood on your table."

Gwen pursed her lips but ultimately followed the request. Peter didn't say anything as Matt sat behind him and took the needle and thread from his hands, "Looks like I wasn't the only one who had an eventful afternoon."

Peter didn't say anything. He just sat silently and let Matt clean what blood and dirt was left before sewing up the biggest cut that ran across his back. Gwen watched over them protectively and a part of him almost laughed. Spider-Man and the Devil of Hell's Kitchen shrunk to the size of dolls while Spider-Woman watched over them. It would've been comical in any other situation.

Matt traced a finger through the numerous wounds and Peter grit his teeth. Too close, "...What happened to you?" Peter muttered.

"I ran into Murakami." Matt pulled the needle with practiced precision. Even if Peter couldn't see it he already knew it looked better than the roughshod work he had, "Needless to say my attempt to stop him proved fruitless. If Daniel hadn't been present I expect that I wouldn't have made it out of that confrontation." If there was one thing he could give that old bastard it was tenacity.

"What about you, Peter?" Gwen asked softly.

He almost didn't say anything, or at the very least lie that he just got caught up in the riot. Looking back at Gwen's pleading ways cut that plan short, "...Bullseye." Her blue eyes widened while Matt paused briefly in his sewing, "He...we fought." After he saved his life twice, "I just...I couldn't beat him." Bullseye could've killed him right then and there. It wasn't a tie, much as he wanted to pretend it was.

"Fuck..." Gwen looked away and muttered more curses under his breath.

"Perhaps you should have killed him when you had the chance, Ms. Stacy." She glared down at Matt. Again he paid her no mind, "Well, too late to cry over spilt milk. We'll just have to rectify that mistake when you get your powers back."

"Yeah..." He looked down at the wound on his shoulder. A reminder, he said. From the old friend who sacrificed everything to make sure he survived last year.

And now here he was, letting Matt sew him up.

The next few minutes were quiet save for Matt cleaning up his wounds when he could. Peter looked straight ahead, ignoring the way his hands and face twitched. He shouldn't feel guilty. His friend was gone. What Gao and the rest of her parasites dug up was a twisted corpse.

"Hmm, that's all I can do." Matt said. Peter felt heavy from all the bandages wrapped around him.

"Great. Now I can call Page and get you the fuck out of here," Gwen said.

"...What about your wounds?" Peter asked softly.

"Hm? Oh, they'll pass."

"...Turn around." Matt raised a brow while Gwen looked at him questioningly. He didn't say anything and grabbed another needle from the box, "Turn around. You're just as wounded as me and I don't want you bleeding out."

Matt, for once, looked honestly surprised, "I wasn't going to ask-"

"Then don't. Just do it before I changed my mind."

He did. Peter eyed the numerous wounds, forming bruises and patches of blood, "Murakami did a real number on you." Matt laughed at that, a small sound that felt off coming from him. Peter followed Matt's lead and cleaned the wounds as best he could. It was practical. He wasn't exactly swimming in allies and the least thing he needed was one of them dying out of spite.

_"Speaking of, here's one thing I'm curious about: why is he still alive?I definitely remember that bastard havin' us dead to rights and you beggin' for my life. I didn't hear any promises of revenge, but that was implied. So now you're, what, buddy buddy with him? He's my replacement, huh? You got shit taste, kid."_

"I'm done." Wasn't the best look, but at least he wouldn't bleed out any time soon.

"Hmm..." He moved his left arm experimentally and nodded, "It's adequate. Thank you."

"You did the same thing."

"You know it's customary to say 'you're welcome'."

"Don't push your luck."

The doorbell rang. Gwen opened the door and Peter winced when he saw Page on the other side, "It appears my warden's here." Matt's shoulders slumped slightly. For some reason a part of him wanted to ask Gwen if Matt could stay before he crushed it down. Where the hell did that come from? "I suppose I'll see you soon, Peter."

"Yeah..."

Gwen handed him over to Page and closed the door. Now it was just the two of them, "So..." Gwen wrung her hands nervously and sat back down on the couch, "Is there...anything I can do? I don't know what I can really help with..."

"I'm fine, Gwen." A lie, but a harmless one for now, "...Maybe you could order a pizza? I'm starving." Least trying normal food at this size was new.

Gwen gave him a small, genuine smile and gently ruffled the top of his head with the tip of her right pointer finger, "You got it." He watched her call and tried to ignore the throbbing on his right shoulder. The next time he saw Bullseye one of them would end up dead.

* * *

**Prison arc done. Like I said before I did some tweaking for the Morbius arc so instead of it being a Gwen solo thing she's actually going to be working with Peter since a big part of it is investigation. Hopefully you guys are cool with it. Seems like people wanted more of these two working together anyway. **

**Anyway, the Bullseye vs Noir fight was what I was looking forward to the most. In the previous vote people wanted Noir to fight him rather than Matt so this is what we get. Whereas Matt vs Bullseye had irony with the former villain fighting the former anti-hero here it's two ex-friends just trying to hurt each other. **

**Questions:**

**1\. Do you guys agree with Noir trying to kill Bullseye right there or does it make him look ungrateful considering how Bullseye acted the rest of the chapter?In the end fight Noir acts as the aggressor and Bullseye, for his own reasons, does try to defuse it. And Noir didn't really accomplish anything besides getting himself hurt and giving Bullseye some cuts. **

**2\. Contrasting that, do you guys think Gwen's unfair of her treatment of Matt considering he was possessed during V1 and can't be held responsible for what happened? Or is it alright given all the crap the Beast pulled while wearing Matt's face? This goes double if Matt ends up as MJ's love interest. **

**Review Answers: **

**KasugaRomio - DC's a bit hard for personal reasons. Maybe at some point.**

**Dr. Sugarcakes - I thought you fed off of suffering? **

**Esquire-Man - There was but corona either cancelled or delayed it. Shame. **


	49. Breakfast Dates and Vampire Professors

**Morbius arc time. As promised before this'll be a lighter arc focusing on the interplay between Noir and Gwen. It seems like people need a break from all the heavy stuff in the recent chapters, especially after that last fight with Bullseye. **

**This arc will also be kinda mushy since, while not a date per-se, Peter and Gwen working together lends to a more couples feel and they also go into more in-depth discussions about the future like Peter's schooling and their relationship. **

* * *

**T.** \- Looks like **Alpha **got caught fake stopping crime. Read it **here**

**reply from Fun Burgerface - **WTF? Lady you've already got powers but you're still faking crimes for views?

**reply from Creepo_V - **And yet her stans are still defending her smh. How can we have people like **MVP **or **Hawkeye** who fight crime without powers then we got these people with actual abilities and they're faking shit for clout?

**reply from StrikerNotBombshell **\- Cause people are fucking dumb. You see guys licking toilets for attention, this shouldn't be a surprise.

**reply from Fun Burgerface - **Oh yeah I saw the news about your schoolmates buying TM from gangsters. What happened to them?

**reply from StrikerNotBombshell - **Daddy's getting them an expensive lawyer and they'll probably get away with a warning. Justice system at work folks.

**reply from Creepo_V - **I doubt it. Apparently while being _exposed to or using_ the mist isn't a crime _trading it around_ is. It's that weird loophole where you can use white phosporous to provide cover but if it suffocates someone then suddenly it's against the rules. Depending on the charges it could be as bad as trading high level firearms illegally.

* * *

Peter woke up to the Spider-God's grinning face inches in front of him.

"...Been a while." He looked around him and saw the all too familiar sight of his patron's web. He was standing, he noted blankly, with spiders skittering around his his feet in a chaotic jumble. He was just glad that he was wearing clothes this time. The first time he - his brother - showed up here the giant arachnid didn't even bother leaving him with his clothes on.

_"My hunter. Welcome home."_

"This ain't home." Peter looked back at it (him?) with narrowed eyes. The first time he saw the Spider-God proper in his dreams he was afraid; and who wouldn't be? Spiders were scary enough on their own but one the size of a truck with a demented smile etched on its face? That was the stuff of nightmares.

Now he mostly felt apathetic. The thing was grotesque, but it needed him as much as he needed it. It was an opportunist, always looking to expand its influence and rub its nose over Anansi, and Peter was its biggest investment.

_"You have not changed."_ It might have been just his imagination but he could've sworn it was annoyed, _"You have been busy the past year."_

"Saw that, did you?" Stupid thing to say. Of course it did; it was always watching, "Hope you enjoyed the show."

The Spider-God laughed and turned back to its web. Sounded like nails scraping his brain, _"You have been eager. Both of you." _Peter grunted and didn't say anything. While he was running around like a headless chicken dealing with the Hand his brother was tangling with Nazis and trying to end the second world war. Made him feel small in comparison, _"I chose wisely. Both hunters eager to spill the blood of those with evil intent." _

"Evil. Always wondered why you were so focused on that." He didn't think giant spiders from some kind of extra-dimensional hellscape was particularly keen on morals, but here they were.

It laughed again. Peter didn't even bother to cover his ears; he knew he'd still hear it at full volume, _"You would not understand." _Peter rolled his eyes; of course it'd say something like that. Teresa had to get her cryptic attitude from somewhere, _"But you feel its hunger too. The hunger to punish the guilty, to make them your prey and bring them suffering."_

"...I guess so." No point in arguing with the thing. He wasn't suicidal, "Speaking of, I've been getting a lot less from you recently."

_"So eager to return to your curse despite your previous protests."_ It crawled closer to him and Peter flinched when it stopped even closer than before. He saw every inch of its large, monstrous face, saw the saliva dripping down its wide jaw.

"Enough with the show. You need me as much as I need you. If you want me to be your 'hunter' then give me what I need to do it."

Somehow its smile got even wider and Peter felt an all too familiar pain on his left hand, _"You are mine once more. Be sure not to break our bond again."_ The spiders skittered around them as if cheering the declaration. Peter looked down at his hand and flinched when he saw the throbbing, dark veins that took up his pale skin. Just like that night at the docks and when Cindy dragged him out of her twin's butcher shop.

"About that..." Peter shook his hand and looked it in the eye, "Back there in the Hand's conversion center you told me that I'd 'use your gifts for you instead of me'. What the hell did you mean by that?"

_"The fake immortals are not your greatest concern."_ Peter's eyes narrowed. That was...ominous_, "Something is coming, and it will crush all decent people like insects."_

"...Throwing 'my' own words back at me, huh?" His brother felt so hopeless once he thought Octavius escaped after everything he did to those innocent people - to Robbie. It was what drove him to track Octavius down to that asylum and cost him five years of his life.

And the reason he was here now.

"You gonna tell me what you mean by that?"

_"No."_ Peter clenched his hands and resisted the urge to punch the thing in the face. Something told him it wouldn't end well for him. A sudden ringing around them made him look up, _"Your hunting grounds call to you again. Remember: you belong to me, and this pact is eternal. From when you awoke in that alley till the day you die, you are mine. You and any children you birth with her."_

Peter sneered, "We'll see about that."

It gave one loud, final laugh before everything faded into darkness. Peter shot up suddenly like he'd been doused in cold water and looked around him. He was back in Gwen's apartment, still stuck in his small state. Gwen set up a makeshift bed on the cabinet next to her bed - really just a clean piece of cloth for a mattress and some cotton as a pillow. It was either that or using one of her socks and he wasn't exactly keen on on that.

"Mmgh..." Shaking off his early morning drowsiness, he looked to the bed and found Gwen still fast asleep. It was still bizarre seeing her at this height. He remembered Ben taking him to the statue of liberty when he was younger, "Can't wait to get back to normal." He stood up properly and cracked his stiff neck. The clothes Moon Knight shrunk down beforehand were a poor fit, but it was better than nothing.

He moved his limbs experimentally and let out a soft sigh of relief. His powers were back. Now he just needed to to get back to normal size.

Next to him, Gwen awoke with a small noise, "Mmm..." Opening her eyes slowly, she sat up on the bed and immediately focused her attention on the cabinet, "Peter...?" she asked softly. She wanted to put him next to her on the pillow - over-protectiveness didn't just go away overnight - but they both eventually decided it was a no go. She didn't exactly wanna move around in her sleep and squish him.

"Here." He raised up a hand briefly before returning back to what he was doing. He sat sitting down and peeling away his bandages.

"Hey, you shouldn't-"

"It's fine. See?" She unwrapped the bandages covering his right wrist and raised his arm up. Gwen looked closer and found the skin covered in blood but uninjured otherwise, "Spider-God just gave me a ring last night. Powers are back."

"That's good." She yawned and stretched her arms above her head before swinging her legs down on the ground gently. She had to be careful while he was still that size, "Remember we're gonna head over to Wasp this afternoon."

"I remember. Can't wait to get back to normal." He finished discarding the last of the bandages and hopped to her offered hand. Spider powers kept her hands from shaking, at least, "Sure we can't get over there sooner?"

"Tried calling her last night. No dice. Warden's raging out and wants to know exactly how the prisoners got out."

"Maybe he should make sure his people can't be bought for a stack of long green."

"Yeah, I'll be sure to tell him to get right on that." She rolled her eyes and walked to the bathroom. He hopped off to the sink and she gave him a small thimble of water before grabbing her toothbrush, "Might wanna clean that blood up."

"On it. Make sure to brush properly, I can smell your breath from here."

She rolled her eyes again and poked him lightly before doing their morning routines. It was weird just how _not_ weird the two of them were about it. Here she was with her boyfriend the size of a lego figure and she was going about her day like nothing was wrong.

_'You awake yet, Webster?'_

**"I am now." **She jutted out of Gwen's shoulder and made a (cute) yawn. She leaned down and gently nuzzled Peter's back, **"It's good you are back. Gwen spent the past week worried and it kept me up at night."**

"Like you actually sleep. I've seen you change my webflicks preferences." Gwen scoffed and began to brush.

"It's good being back too. Nice to go to the bathroom without worrying about bending over." She stopped brushing briefly and looked down at him. He had his shirt off and was wiping away the blood on his upper arms. She shook her head and continued her routine. Even after all the time she knew him the way he just casually brought up horrific stuff still made her pause.

**"What does he mean by that?"**

"...I'll tell you when you're older." She was _not_ going to explain the concept of prison showers to her.

They finished up in a few minutes and soon enough they were on their way to the dining room, "How much time do you have before classes start?" Peter asked. He was on her left shoulder holding onto a handful of hair for support. He'd insisted it was easier than carrying him around by hand and that it was easy enough to balance with both of their powers. She made sure to walk slowly anyway.

"A couple of hours." She opened the fridge and frowned at the sparse contents. Ever since Peter went to his prison gig she'd gone back to takeout and easy-bake meals, "Wanna order another pizza?"

"Not a chance. Actually, now's as good a time as any." He tugged at her hair and pointed to the kitchen, "I promised I was gonna teach you how to cook so let's get to it."

"Uh...you know the pizza place is really close by. If you don't want it delivered we could swing over and-"

"Gwen." Oh, she could see the disapproval on his face already, "You can't just live on fast food the rest of your life."

"Says the guy who I have to force to eat three meals a day?"

"Exactly. If I have to do that then you have to learn how to cook. Fair's fair." Gwen bit her tongue. Well, she couldn't argue with that. How sad was it she couldn't win an argument with a guy the size of her pinky? "It's easy enough. You have a cookbook lying around and I can give you instructions. It'll take a miracle for you to burn down the kitchen...again."

"That was one time! And I wanted to surprise you with breakfast in bed!" Gwen huffed. So sue her for wanting to be a good girlfriend. Not her fault the stove decided to be a little shit.

**"The road to hell is paved with good intentions," **Webster said from her other shoulder.

"You shut it! I don't need you two shoulder people getting on my ass!" She rolled her eyes and, _very_ reluctantly, picked up the cook book, "What are we making, though? I don't have much ingredients..." Especially with MJ gone. Now she only bought enough for her and Webster and they went through that real quick.

**"I would not say no to more chocolate."**

"Of course you wouldn't." Peter tugged her hair again and pointed down, "Saw potatoes and eggs so we can make some baked potatoes with egg toppings. Bread and tomatoes too so we can make some roasted tomato sandwiches. You have any cheese?"

"Think so."

"Get it out then. We can use it too."

**"What do I do?" **

"Just help out where you can. You hate fire so no cooking, but anything else is fair game." Another hair tug. She was beginning to feel like the guy from Ratatouille, "If we do it right we should be able to finish in 45 minutes. Leaves you an hour and 15 minutes to eat then get to school."

"How organized." She got the ingredients out and followed Peter's instructions to the letter. It was...nice. Weird considering his state, but nice anyway. Webster helped out too, carrying bowls around the counter and helping her slice up the tomatoes better than any knife. She did whine about not getting to eat Peter's chocolate specialties, but she (reluctantly) agreed it was a no-go right now.

Finally, after a lot of hair tugging and instructions shouted to her ear, they finished. It was...decent. The tomatoes were burnt, the potatoes were kinda runny and the eggs weren't in the best shape, but it was edible.

"We're still alive." Peter said once they were at the dinner table. She'd sliced off a bit of potato and (just a bit _too_ toasty) bread and gave it to him. If he was forcing her to cook then she was gonna make him eat.

"It wasn't that bad, I guess." She didn't say anything about him nibbling on a piece of toast the size of his head. Next to her Webster flopped around the table and sat next to Peter protectively. Gotta keep her chocolate supply alive.

Breakfast was pleasant. She, Webster and Peter talked about whatever came to mind and they caught each other up on what they did the past week. Her week wasn't too exciting. A return to business as usual - college, daily patrol and being the best big sister in the world to Helena. Tweeter feeds kept spamming her with questions, mostly on how 'she could go back with that $%!%^ Spider-Man', but she ignored it. She wasn't going to let people ruin it.

Peter said prison wasn't as exciting as the shows made it. Apparently it was a lot of waiting around in your cell and trading for whatever creature comforts you could afford...except for the time he got attacked on his first day and almost got you know what in the showers. Again it was kinda creepy how nonchalant he described the way he was treated.

"Don't suppose I can convince you to take a break now?" she asked after swallowing her mouthful of tomato cheese toast. She still preferred take-out.

"Now that I've got my powers back now? Not a chance." He shook his head, "We need to make sure the Hand can't capitalize on their new recruits. Echo managed to stop them from getting Moonstone and Jack's still in the Raft but that doesn't mean we can get careless"

"Well the 'good' news is powered crimes fall under Avengers jurisdiction. Any of these guys have powers and they'll be made a priority."

"I doubt the Hand's gonna use them out in the open then. Gao's a lot of things but careless isn't one of them." He leaned back against Webster like she was a particularly squishy pillow. She refrained from commenting how cute they both looked, "We need to find a way to lure them out."

"You know I really thought you'd stop tangling with the cult ninjas once you took out Murderdock last year." And now here he was helping Peter. Like the whole of last year didn't happen at all.

"If it wasn't them it'd just be another group of psychopaths. Every dimension's full of em." She hummed and didn't disagree. He was kinda right there. Even with H.Y.D.R.A dismantled Cap told them it was only a matter of time before someone else took their place. Natured abhored a vacuum, to use the words of her Anthropology professor. That just meant they had to keep pulling the weeds out.

"What are your plans once you take them out?"

"...Not sure. I've been fighting them for over a year now." Ever since Murderdock decided to try and make him his apprentice, "Like I said, there'll be more clowns needing someone to deal with them."

"Remember you're attending college with me next semester. Think about future."

"Future, huh..." He looked down and his next words made her choke, "You ever think about kids?"

Gwen started coughing while Webster shielded Peter from any flying chunks of food. Thankfully she had enough sense to cover her mouth and avoid spitting up all over them. It took a few more coughs and a desperate gulp of water before she managed to find her words, "Wh-What?" she said, very smart and eloquent cause that was just how she was.

"Kids. You know, what a lot of people use sex for-"

"I know what kids are!" she shouted, forgetting to lower her voice. Peter flinched slightly and covered his ears," S-Sorry..." she coughed again and made sure her next words were softer, "I'm just...surprised. What brought it up?"

They didn't talk about marriage, not since Jessica and her dad's ceremony last year, but it was something at the back of their minds. Gwen was pretty sure that the relationship was permanent - or at the very least that she wasn't going to break up with him and end up with Kate or Tony Stark like a lot of her more obsessed fans thought. As far as she was concerned if she was gonna end up doing the family thing it would've been with him.

Still. Marriage, though...she just couldn't imagine the two of them living in the suburbs like her dad and Jess. Being an Avenger/Superhero and a vigilante exorcist wasn't exactly the average 9 to 5.

"Told you the Spider-God gave me a ring last night. Before I woke up it told me that any kids we have are gonna be its."

"Is...that a bad thing? I mean it's the one who brought you back and gave you your powers. The reason you're with me now." She hadn't meant to say the last part out loud. Peter made a soft humming sound and looked up at her with a slight smile, "I mean if your 'boss' is offering to give our kids powers I'd say that's good. Better to protect themselves if trouble ever came around."

"That's assuming that's all it'll do. You remember what Teresa said about the one who gave you your powers." That it tried to kill Ben. And when she refused to take the bait it killed Peter instead. She still wasn't sure she believed it, "Sometimes I wonder if me attracting crazies like Jack or Matt is just my own bad luck or the big guy's drawing them to me. He even told me something's coming that'll put the whole city at risk."

"Well whatever it is we'll take care of it." They dealt with Murderdock and Moon last year. Whatever came they could win, "But for kids...I dunno. I mean I wouldn't exactly say _no_ to any kids we have getting powers if your 'boss' isn't some kind of secret puppetmaster. That's assuming we can have kids considering...you know."

**"It should be possible. Your reproductive organs are all intact and so birthing is possible." **Gwen cringed at how bluntly Webster said it, **"However, there is the possibility that any children born from you will have symbiotes of their own given they would inherit your immunity to radiation. If we were able to birth Chocolate without a host then that is possible as well."**

"If that happens then the Spider-God can't gets its hands on them. Me and the parasites don't play nice."

**"Please do not call me a parasite."**

"Sorry." He patted the side of Webster's goopy form apologetically, "...You know, I ran into Mephisto a few weeks ago after we 'broke up'. Said we'd have at least two kids. Ghost and the Winter Soldier."

"Winter Soldier? That's Bucky Barnes, dude." Ghost Spider sounded kinda creepy too.

"Yeah. He was probably just messing with me." He shook his head.

"So...any thoughts about what we're doing for today?" she asked, if only to change the subject. As much as she liked the idea of him thinking about the future this really wasn't the right time to talk about it. Maybe when they could actually look each other eye to eye.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I'm not just gonna leave you here after what happened. You told me about what happened with Bullseye." Not all of it, but enough. She didn't pry; he'd tell her when he was ready, "And you said before that the Hand might know where we live." It wasn't a guarantee, but the possibility was enough to make him worry. Though he also said that it was unlikely they'd attack her directly. That'd just get the Avengers and the government on their asses and that was a fight they couldn't win.

That and she didn't wanna leave him alone and find him dueling a rat when she got back. Good thing Murderface was living with Betty now.

"Hmm..." He set the piece of toast down and wiped his hands, "Guessing Cin and Lana aren't free?"

"Cindy's at work on a new case and Lana's attending classes." And she did not wanna know what police officers and fangirls would do to a vulnerable Spider-Man. Besides, they just called Lana last night warning her about Bullseye attacking her again. Putting Peter with her wouldn't be the most safe, "MJ's pretty busy too. She's got a new modeling gig then she's going to work at the theater."

"Can't rely on the rest of the the group either since they're in the same state." He hummed briefly, "Summers busy too?"

"She said Robbie put her on investigating the prison riot. Jan said she'd do an interview with her too." And she didn't exactly like the idea of leaving Peter with her. Gwen trusted her, but she wasn't exactly a match for a group of cult ninjas, "How about Kate?" She did help them out last year. Apparently what she saw was so bad she still refused to talk about it until 'I get really futzing drunk', to use her words.

"Rather not get her involved. Hand can tie her to Jones and they can tie Jones to you. Last thing we need is them knowing who you are."

"I don't know anyone else you can babysit. Do you?"

"Well...there's always Castle-"

"No." She felt no need to explain herself.

"Then we're stuck. Unless you wanna skip classes there's nothing we can do till Wasp brings me back to normal."

"Well..." Gwen bit her lower lip. It was a risky bid, but... "I could take you with me to class." He looked up at her with a raised brow and said nothing, "Not out on my desk or anything! I can put you in my bag and leave the zipper open a bit. I gotta attend morning lectures but then we can swing by Jan's place and get you back to normal. It'll just be a few hours tops."

"How's this any different than just dropping me off with Cin or Lana?"

**"She just wants to make sure you're safe,"** Webster said, **"Gwen's been worried ever since you were imprisoned and the stories you told a night prior have no eased her worries. It's practical too. Gwen will be the one to take you to Janet so this will ensure you will be returned to normal faster."**

"...Point." Peter sighed and stood, "Alright then, guess that's the plan. Just make sure not to zip it up fully. I just escaped one cell, not eager to get into another."

"Of course not." Gwen huffed, "But is there anything else I can do to make the time pass easier? Maybe I can leave my phone on and you can browse the net?"

"I barely use my phone at normal size, not gonna do it when I'm like this. It's fine. Moon Knight had some stuff shrunk down. It was meant for him to use, but I've got something to pass the time." She gingerly handed him the shrunken backpack from the kitchen counter and he pulled out a big, brown book.

"Is that a bible?"

"Yep."

"Didn't know you were religious." Granted it was hard not to be nowadays that people knew demons and angels existed. She didn't dwell on it too much. She was raised believing in God but she and her dad fell into the 'Relaxed Christian' group. They prayed occasionally and donated to charities but they weren't much for traditions or attending church every Sunday.

Looking it up online was just...depressing. If she thought it was bad before zealots were practically frothing at the mouth now that there was actual, physical proof of their belief.

"I'm not, but I have to be practical. The reason I got turned into a kid before was because of Lilith and according to Matt she's a demon of the biblical type. I'll read up on the Whore of Babylon and see if I can dig anything up we can use on her."

"Uh...I didn't read too much of that but I'm pretty sure the bible doesn't have 'here's the big demon and here's how to kill her'. Besides, why don't you just ask Karen Page?"

"You know how it is. Getting a straight answer out of her is like pulling teeth." He scoffed, "I don't expect I'll find a weakness so easily but it's better than nothing. If nothing else else it'll help pass the time."

"Alright then. Good luck, I guess."

* * *

**BSarah **\- Just had family dinner and...ugh, super nightmare.

**reply from Maxwell **\- What happened?

**reply from BSarah **\- Family reunion dinner and crazy aunt came. You know the one, the religious nutjob who thinks believing in God means she's better than anyone. Ever since the **Times Square Demon** got killed she's been even worse. Screaming about how we're all going to hell and bla bla bla.

**reply from Charuto **\- Yeah I've got a cousin who's bad at it too. He went through a phase in high school when he went full viking, calling for Odin or something. Ever since the **Asgardians** crashed he's gone stupid with it. Now he's claiming he's an Asgardian in a human body.

**reply from Maxwell **\- Asgardiankin, you mean? Yeah I've been seeing a lot of those lately on lockr. Angelkin and Demonkin too. It's maximum cringe out there.

**reply from BSarah **\- What a time to be alive. Aunt went on a speech about how when the demons come she'll be saved and we'll all burn in hell. Then I pointed out a demon got killed by humans **Spider-Man** and the **Defenders** and she flipped the fuck out.

**reply from Charuto **\- Yeah I really don't get why people are so impressed with the Asgardians. Betcha five bucks Spider-Woman can kick their asses.

**reply from ThorGodOfLigthning **\- I would not fight Spider-Woman. We are allies.

**reply from Maxwell **\- ...Are you seriously Thor?

**reply from ThorGodOfLightning **\- Indeed! At the advice of some friends I was encouraged to create one of these social media accounts. I was also told to post what they called a selfie to prove it is me. Will this suffice? **Image**

**reply from BSarah **\- ...Hey Thor, could you hold on a sec? I gotta introduce you to my aunt. I think she'll enjoy talking to another god.

* * *

They finished up their breakfast and, after a quick shower, made it to class with time to spare. Gwen made sure to keep her bag mostly empty and sat in a corner of the room to make sure she didn't have a seatmate who could lean over and see him.

She did her best to pay attention, but more than once she found her attention drifting back to her mini tagalong. True to his word Peter sat with his back against her chemistry textbook and read the bible without saying a word. Occasionally he looked up and paid attention when Professor Warren started getting into one of his impassioned lectures on genetics and inheritance, but apart from that he made himself invisible.

Psyche280 was even more annoying than usual. Ms. Gonzales went off on another tangent about hero psychology and it took everything she had not to start an argument right then and there. Even if she just excused it as her being an Avengers fan the last thing she needed was to draw attention to herself.

Thankfully she managed to get through class without breaking something. Gwen sighed with relief and made her way back to the entrance. Peter was back on her left shoulder and she put up the hood of her jacket to keep him out of sight. If anyone saw her talking they would've just assumed she was using wireless earphones.

"Any luck finding her kryptonite?" she asked.

"Not so much." He held on to a few locks of hair to keep from being jostled, "Most of it is symbolic. Passages treat her more as a representation of corruption and idolatry than focusing on an actual individual. There are references to her being burned in cleansing fire and men being buried alive, so I'm guessing we either set her on fire or bury her in a shallow grave. Neither are easy."

"Miss dealing with regular criminals yet?" She didn't bother trying to convince him not to kill her. From what Peter told her she was some kind of ancient demon from a stupid long time ago. She figured if anyone was an exception to the rule it'd be her.

"Never stopped. I'm not good at dealing with ghosts and demons."

"Everybody else disagrees." It was the whole reason Gyrich and considered him a 'do not touch' VIP. Gwen knew for a fact that she definitely couldn't just punch demons away.

"Yeah, well-"

"Stacy, you heading back?" She turned around to see Professor Hickey walking towards her. Peter discreetly hid behind her hair out of sight.

"Uh, yeah. Classes are finished and I don't have any afternoon ones."

"Could you do me a favor? I got a meetin' to go to but I gotta make a delivery." He raised a brown envelope with his right hand, "Could you hand it over to Morbius? It'll be on the way. He's got a special room here on campus. You know where it is."

"I dunno..." She would've said yes normally but she didn't like the idea of deviating with Peter the way he was now.

"It'll be quick. Just gotta hand it to him then you can head out." He looked around briefly then said in a lower voice, "Come on, Stacy, do me a favor. You know that guy creeps the hell outta me..."

She was about to reply when she felt two tugs on her hair a brief touch on her neck, "...Alright." Staying here to argue would've just delayed them more, "But I expect favors for this! One semester of perfect grades should do it." She smirked.

"Yeah, sure. I'll tell your dad he raised a little extortionist." He handed her the envelope, "Thanks though. I mean it."

"Just get to your meeting." She waved goodbye and, after making sure they were alone, loosened her hood a bit so Peter could move around easier, "Well...looks like we're gonna be taking a bit of a detour. Sorry."

"It's fine. No sense in annoying the one who's gonna be teaching your major. You know where it is?"

"Yeah, I know it." Never actually visited, though. She agreed with Professor Hickey; the guy was pretty damn creepy, "Right, make sure to hold on. I don't want you to drop."

"This Morbius guy seems to have a reputation. What do you know about him?"

"Not much. He's not one of my professors but I've seen him around campus sometimes. He's...quiet." Creepy, but she didn't say that out loud. Peter could judge for himself, "He's the kind of guy who prefers experiments to people, I guess. Glory had a chem class with him last sem and she said it was like he was talking _at_ the class instead of _to_ them. Didn't answer any questions and every time someone tried to interrupt him he'd just keep rambling on like nothing happened."

"Surprised he hasn't gotten fired yet."

"He's tenured. Can't really fire him unless he's sleeping with students or something." She almost shrugged before remembering where Peter was, "That and most people pass his classes. Apparently he just gives out group projects and papers so it's pretty easy to get a decent score."

"Guess I'll have to deal with him if I'm going for the science track."

They arrived at his place. Professor Morbius' room was in a cut off corner of the professor's dormitory building. Gwen had no idea how he managed to get an entire floor to himself and she didn't really care. She just wanted to get this over with.

"Professor Morbius." She knocked on the door. No response, "Professor Morbius! I've got something from Professor Hickey here for you!" Two more knocks. Still nothing.

"...Something's wrong," Peter said.

"What do you mean?"

"I can smell blood." Gwen stiffened, "Spider-sense is going haywire, too. "

"Danger?"

"No. At least not for us." He paused briefly, "We need to get in there and check."

"I could bust the door down-"

"Not a good idea. You'll have to start explaining if anyone hears the noise and comes check." He walked forward and looked down at the floor, "Set me down and give me a line of webbing. I can crawl under to the other side and unlock the door for you."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"I survived a week in the Raft, Gwen. I think I can handle a locked door."

She bit her lower lip briefly then raised her hand to get him. He jumped into her awaiting palm and she lowered him to the floor, "Just make sure to open the door, alright? Don't go wandering off." She shot a thin webline which he grabbed and dragged under the door with him.

It took a couple of minutes with her standing and fidgeting nervously before she heard a soft click, "Get in here," he shouted, barely audible. She changed her fingerprints (thank you, Webster) and turned the doorknob gently, "Over here." He was hanging next to the turn lock using the web like a rope. She put him back on her shoulder and lowered her hood after changing her face. Wasn't like there was any point in being discreet now that they were breaking and entering.

The place was a mess. Scattered papers everywhere, beakers shattered on the floor and, most gruesomely, a big puddle of blood at the center of the room that looked like it could fill a tub. The scent of the chemicals, a common enough smell coming from the creepy professor's room, was the only reason the coppery stench hadn't gone farther. Above even that the place was _dark_. The lights barely worked and window was blocked out and covered with thick, heavy curtains.

Looked more like a dungeon cave than a professor's room.

"Looks like this professor got tangled up in something serious," Peter said, "We should look around. Make sure to mask your fingerprints in case the police check anything later."

"Already did it." Cap might have wanted her to reveal her identity at some point but she was adamant she be the one to do it. Someone else finding out before she was ready (read: never) would've been disastrous, "I don't see Prof Morbius anywhere. Kidnapping?"

"Either that or he's dead. That puddle of blood isn't exactly healthy a good sign." Gwen winced. She figured murder was a possibility but she wanted to look on the brighter side, "Still, most people don't go after college professors. Either he's dabbling with something on the side or he _really_ made someone mad. Even most criminals don't tend to use murder as a first resort."

"Computer first, maybe?" She picked up some stuff from her dad - he taught her how to spot a tail when she was _8_ \- but she wasn't exactly a detective like Peter or Jess. At best she was decent at following a trail.

"Good idea. If we're lucky he's still logged in." He looked around and pointed near the blood pool, "Set me down over there. I'll see if I can find any tracks or any signs of a struggle."

"Careful." She set him down and walked over to the computer. Good news was he was still logged in. Bad news was there was nothing useful far as she could see. Most of it was just research on neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimers and Parkinsons, "Hold on..." There was a diary file. She double clicked the icon and cursed when a pop-up asked for a password.

She tried password recovery and failed three times. Gwen sighed and was about to try again when Peter called from below, "Hey, put me up," he shouted by her right foot. She put him on the table next to the computer and she crouched down so they could see eye to eye, "Looked around a bit. Blood's old, at least past an hour or two judging by how dry it is. No signs of a struggle though."

"You kidding me? This place is wrecked."

"He did it himself." He crossed his arms, "Just saw one pair of footsteps on the indents. Something's odd, though." He pointed to the opposite wall, "There are faint handprints on the walls and floor, but they're not all the same size. It's like the fingers got elongated. Scratches on the wall too. Like animal claws."

"Maybe it's from another person?"

"Doubt it. Footsteps are all the same so unless this other person was flying I'm guessing it's the same guy." He put a hand on his chin, "You mentioned that the guy was odd. Any chance he got hit with the mist? Would explain him going berserk and the change in his hands. Mist mutates people"

"No. I saw him around campus and he definitely didn't have claws." She shook her head, "I still think there was another guy here. Maybe they just have the same shoe size? Hell the culprit could actually _be_ flying. Can't discount anything nowadays."

"Maybe." He looked back at the computer, "Any luck?"

"No." She sighed, "Tried the diary but there's a password on it. I can copy the file but opening it's a no-go unless we have his password."

"You have a USB. Copy all the files you can and let's get outta here. We can get Summers to hack it open if she's not too busy."

"Got it." She copied the files over and offered her hand to Peter, "Come on, let's get outta here. We need to call the cops and tell them what happened." She hoped Professor Morbius was alright.

"Yeah. Let's get me fixed quick then we can start investigating."

Thankfully getting Peter back to normal wasn't as big a hassle as she thought it'd be. Wasp led her to a new location none of her employees knew about and a quarter of an hour later he was back to being...well, not _tall_, but good enough.

"Hey there, stranger." She hugged him with a smile and a happy sigh. Felt good not having to worry about accidentally squashing him, "How's it feel to be back?' she asked cheekily.

"Felt better than I have in a while. Back to normal and I've got my powers back." He cracked his neck and moved his limbs experimentally, "Fighting the Hand'll be easier now too."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." She looked back to the new arrival and scowled when she saw a normal sized Matt Murdock walking towards them carrying a briefcase. She wouldn't have minded _him_ staying bug sized for a while... "It appears that while we were dealing with our reduced states that the Hand decided to launch an attack. Sowande's gone."

"What do you mean he's _gone_?" Peter snarled.

"I mean the Hand has taken its finger back." He smiled wryly, "The Chaste mounted an admirable defense, but they were overwhelmed and by the time we received word Sowande had long since escaped."

"So we're right back to where we started and the Hand has new recruits." He cursed under his breath, "How the hell did the Chaste survive for so long before we showed up? I'm surprised they know how to tie their shoelaces."

"I'll be sure to let Stick know of your thoughts. But for now I wouldn't worry too much. Judging from what Sowande let slip in his cocky monologues-" Gwen rolled her eyes. Yeah, like he had any room to judge on monologues "-it seems as if he's enacting whatever plan he's come up with soon. I suggest we take that chance to end his life should the opportunity arise. That is unless Ms. Stacy has no moral objections."

"Don't talk to me, you piece of shit."

"I'll take that as a no." He smiled, "Oh, and before I forget." He knelt down and opened the briefcase. Her brows furrowed when she saw the two pistols inside, "A present from Moon Knight. He assured me that these should pack more of a punch. It should prove useful considering the Hand's new recruits."

"Hm..." Peter accepted the offered pistols and did a quick once-over, checking the sights, magazines and the firing mechanism before nodding, "...Thanks."

"I'm merely the messenger. If you wish to think anyone thank Mr. Spector." He closed the briefcase and stood up again, "By the by, I overheard your conversation. I wish you luck in your side investigation, but please don't let it distract you too much."

"Yeah don't let the door hit you on the way out, asshole," she said as he walked away and closed the door behind him. She turned to Peter and he was giving her a look, "What?"

"You know antagonizing him won't do us any favors."

"Fuck him. He deserves worse."

He was quiet for a moment, "...You know he's not the one who did those things last year." She gave him a look of disbelief and he put both hands up, "Hey, I'm not saying he's innocent. Whatever reasons he had he made that deal. All I'm saying is I killed the thing that made our lives hell and right now Matt's one of the few people I have against the Hand. He knows how they work better than anyone."

"Has everyone gone crazy? First you and then MJ. That guy's a piece of shit!"

"I'm not asking you to make friends with him, but until the Hand is dealt with...I need him." He looked physically pained saying it. Good; at least she knew he didn't just decide to forgive and forget, "Just promise me you'll lighten up if I get him to stop being so...him?"

"No promises, but I'll...try. I guess." She sighed, "It's just...he's such an _asshole_." If he got on his knees begging to be forgiven she might've considered it. But no, he was as cocky and self-assured as ever. If he wanted to prove he'd changed acting the exact same way he did last year was a piss poor way of doing it.

"No arguments there. Hey Matt, you wanna try being less of an insufferable prick?" he said. Silence and then, just barely, she heard the tap of a cane hitting a wall, "...I'll take that as a maybe. Come on, let's find this guy."

"Any leads on where to go next?"

"We should get another detective's insight into this first." Peter's lips quirked up in a slight smile, "It's been a while since I've seen Howard."

* * *

**kirabook **\- Just saw **Spider-Woman** swinging over with **Spider-Man** in Midtown. Guess they really are back together.

**reply from spartan121 **\- Did you guys have any doubt? These two are OTP.

**reply from True Machin **\- I was really hoping the break-up was legit. Even ignoring the romance thing it just looks really off for someone like Spider-Woman who goes to charities and helps kids to shack up with a killer vigilante.

**reply from JR I **\- Wouldn't you say the same thing with **Captain America** and **S.H.I.E.L.D**? They apparently did some nasty shit even before the **Carnage Incident** but no one looks badly at Cap for it.

**reply from Brother Red **\- Difference is Captain America wasn't sleeping with Peggy Carter.

**reply from JR I **\- That we know of...

**reply from True Machin **\- I'm just saying it makes her look super bad.

* * *

**I considered having them get attacked by Morbius in the room but I decided to save it for later. Make them legitimately surprised since they don't know whether he's dangerous, got kidnapped or if he's even still alive.**

**As mentioned before rather than being a solo arc this'll be more of a battle couple outing like the time they dealt with Paper Doll. I thought about Noir remaining shrunk for the entirety of the arc but it wasn't feasible. While it would've led to some possibly comedic scenes it made him a bit too helpless and character-wise Gwen wouldn't have agreed to bring him with her if he was shrunk, powers or no. That and readers are probably tired of him having lingering drawbacks like being de-aged or losing his powers.**

**So now we're back to a normal Noir - plus Spider Trigger - working alongside Gwen :) Next chapter will also have Howard who made his last canonical appearance over 100 chapters ago. Time for the reunion between the people who see Earth-65 for what it is! Wauughhh!**

**Questions:**

**1\. More of a curiosity, but if a symbiote user has a baby would that baby have a symbiote too? The characters were discussing it earlier but I didn't actually come up with an answer. **

**2\. Could you guys actually see these two getting married and settling down? I know Spidey does it with Mary Jane in Spider-Girl but he was (mostly) retired in that verse. Neither of these two seem the type to do that, especially Noir who actively kills people in his vigilante sprees. Be pretty awkward to drop your kids off at school then go track down a crime lord to shoot him in the face. Or have them visit Aunt Mary Jane the vigilante serial killer. **

**3\. Do you guys a future chapter - maybe the comic-con one - to focus on Noir and Lana again? They haven't really had one-on-one time ever since this volume despite their bond being one of the strongest in the previous volume. **

**Time-Space lord Eon - Defuse how? Bullseye made it clear he was going to attack Lana again if possible. That's pretty hard for Noir to swallow. **

**Brave2000 - Psychopaths sell, Joker proves that. **

**rc48177 - Probably could've made it less risky if Noir just cut his throat like he did literally every other prisoner, but of course he has to be dramatic. **

**ToastyIce - Good news, Noir has his powers back and he's back to normal size :) Time for criminals to shit their pants again!**

**Hardlight - Why re-read V1? **


	50. Extra 4 - Crescent Moon

**So...bit of an oddball chapter. Some people expressed an interest in a Moon Knight flashback and I figured it'd be good to have a teaser. This chapter's shorter than my usual updates because I wanna test the waters first. **

**This is a flashback taking place 10 years before Looking Glass. I'm going for a 'Gotham' kind of vibe where we see the characters we know before they became who they are. It's also an experiment for writing a different kind of protagonist since Moon Knight is a different kind of anti-hero compared to Noir. **

**Side Note - I put up a poll on my profile asking if you guys want Noir to have webswinging capabilities or not. I've had certain reviewers arguing he deserves to have it since it's a staple of every Spider-Person. I'm cool with adding it to an extent so on to the poll it goes. Vote if you guys want or not. **

* * *

Back in New York.

Moon Knight knelt over the edge of the high rise building's roof and looked down at the bustling city below. He only recalled vague memories of living here. He spent the first eight years of his life in this city before his father took him to Chicago. He never understood the sudden move and his father was tight-lipped when asked.

Marc never cared all too much. He was too young to consider New York his home and by the time his father died he didn't consider Chicago his home either. It was what made his shift to the life of a soldier and, later on, a mercenary easy. Moving from place to place, being deployed in far off corners of the world to do someone else's killing, it appealed to him and everyone else who had no home to go back to.

And now he was back here, all at the behest of the patron that gave him a second chance at life.

_'This place brings back memories.'_ Jake said next to him. His ethereal form stood at Marc's right side while Steven took up his left. Another benefit from his patron. One man, three roles. A mask for every situation, 'Remember that little girl you had a crush on?

_'If I remember correctly her father threatened to beat you for being a...what was it? A 'dirty little Yid with a worthless Shyster for a father?' _Steven shook his head, _'That man was certainly...creative with his prejudice.'_

_'It does not matter. We did not come here for memories,' _Marc replied. The only reason he had come back here was at Khoshnu's behest, and because both Marlene and Frenchie had ties to this place. More Marlene and Frenchie. Apparently her father had contacts here and it was easier to hide from Bushman among the bustling metropolis than somewhere more covert.

_'You guys ever wonder why our new boss brought us over here?'_ Jake asked, _'I mean we were already in Egypt and we've been to Africa and South America. Plenty of scumbags over there who need their teeth kicked in but the bossman sends us over to the land of the 1% instead. What's the deal?' _

_'It's not our place to question, Jake,' _Marc said.

Taking a deep breath, he jumped from the building and spread the cape of his wings to fly down towards the streets below. Despite Jake's protestations this city was as corrupt and bloated as any other; they simply hid it better under bright lights and intricate symbols to keep the populace docile and uncaring.

The information Jake had gathered was clear enough. They'd heard rumors of homeless people disappearing and some investigation led them to an organ trafficking ring tied to the reigning Maggia crime families.

Even when he was a child he'd heard rumors about them. The conglomerate of the strongest crime families in New York all banded together under a tentative alliance. A part of him still didn't believe it even now. Men like Silvermane and the so-called Hammerhead were predators, not content to split the prey with others of their kind. If they were anything like he expected them to be he could only guess any sort of alliance was due to necessity than want.

Regardless of his belief, the victims were all too real.

The four men in the alley looked upon him warily when they saw his approach,_ 'Perhaps we shouldn't have worn white,'_ Steven hummed.

_'Screw blending in. Let em see us and they'll piss their pants.'_ Jake grinned. Moon Knight hummed slightly in agreement. Khoshnu did not want them slinking around in the darkness like rats. They were to be seen and incite fear in their enemies, to let them know that Khosnhu had come to take his pound of flesh for the sins they had committed. That there would be no escape from the Moon Knight.

"Who the hell are you?" The suited man in front asked. They were armed and made no attempt to hide it, "Halloween was last year, pal. Now screw off if you know what's good for you."

Moon Knight grabbed two of the crescent darts and threw them. The first one impaled one of the suits on his right shoulder while the other gouged clean through another one's left eye, "Holy shit!" One behind screamed. The two unharmed sentries raised their firearms and he moved.

He took out his truncheon and threw it at the jaw of the third gunman. He fell, blood and tooth flying from the impact, while the fourth managed to fire off a shot, _'Heads up.'_ Steven said. Moon Knight ducked before he pulled the trigger and the bullet whizzed overhead. Before he could fire once more Moon Knight grabbed the fallen truncheon and struck the gunman three times in the head with surgical precision.

"You fucking-" The two behind were regaining their bearing. Moon Knight turned and, with small glint from the light of the moon, struck his cestus covered fist right towards the one with the injured shoulder.

He fell, leaving the last gunman to fire blindly before the next strike of the cestus against his throat made him crumple as well. Moon Knight looked down at the whimpering sentries for a moment before he raised his foot and stomped the closest one's head. It was cruel, but it was meant to send a message. Heroes from the likes of Jennifer Walters would use only as much force as necessary to stop a crime. It made the criminals complacent, made them believe that no true harm would come to them and that their punishment could be ignored.

He was to prove them wrong.

Moon Knight opened the door that led down, leaving behind the broken bodies of the parasites to serve as a warning to the rest, _'Man, you shoulda let me do that! I'm better at this stuff than you are.'_ Jake said loudly. Marc ignored him.

_'I'm more worried about how we'll clean up after. White may fit our motif but it's a pain to wash the blood off.' _Steven sighed.

The sounds of struggling could be heard from the door at the end of the hall. Without another word he kicked the fragile wood down and strode inside, "What the fuck?!" One man screamed. He was old with skin like leather and not a single strand of hair on his pale head. The bloodstained surgical gown and gloves he wore fit perfectly with the rusted brown and bloody interior and the hollowed corpses of those they stole from.

Cowards who took from the weak deserved no mercy under Khoshnu's gaze.

"Wh-Who the hell are you?!" The man stumbled back, holding onto the edges of the makeshift surgical table behind him for balance. There was a passed out man there who had yet to be cut, "Y-You from the Gnucci's? Cause I told you the Kingpin guaranteed our protection!"

The man fumbled back for something and suddenly produced a pistol. He dodged to the side behind a slab as the man fired in a panic before turning to leave the other way. Moon Knight slipped out and tossed a crescent dart at the back of the man's left ankle. The barbaric doctor crashed headfirst into the back of another slab and turned around frantically to fire off his remaining bullets. He was so dazed that he barely had to move to avoid them.

Soon enough the telltale click of an empty chamber echoed around the room. It was time.

"Enough. This ends today."

"Not yet!" He tossed the empty firearm at him and Moon Knight simply tilted his head to the side to avoid the pathetic projectile, "Wh-Why can't I hit you?!"

"I'm not real."

His punch sent the 'doctor' crashing through the slab and against the wall. He pleaded and begged, promised a cut of his blood money if he was spared and promises of retribution should the warning not be heeded. Moon Knight ignored them all. He grabbed the scalpel from a nearby table and did unto him what he had done to countless others. Another warning to his masters.

He placed him on one of the hooks and left him to hang there as he squirmed weakly. He was dying now, there was no saving him anymore, but he deserved to suffer at least a fraction of the pain he had caused others.

Moon Knight looked down at his white, bloodstained hands. He was no stranger to killing. From the marines to the CIA to mercenary work and even fight clubs in third world countries. He'd spent many years of his life killing, but never for a true purpose. He killed for the sake of money or for the sake of some ideal suited men and women touted as virtuous. It was all so empty. Hollow.

Now he was bringing punishment to those who believed themselves untouchable.

He was about to leave when he heard a faint ringing from the man's pockets, "Hm..." He fished out a bloodstained flip phone and saw the name 'boss' on the screen. He accepted the call and pressed it against his ear.

"Mr. Morrison, your shipments have come in late." A smooth, deep voice said from the other end, "I'm very disappointed. You came in highly recommended and yet your performance has been wavering as of late. Do not make me regret placing my trust in our mutual contacts." A pause, "Say something. Silence will only make me doubt you even more."

"Your pawn is dead." Moon Knight said. The man said nothing but he heard a faint noise of surprise that he tried and failed to suppress, "Let his death serve as a warning to others of your ilk. I'm coming for you."

"...I don't know who you are, but you've made a fatal mistake." His words were calm and quiet, but Moon Knight felt the raging anger underneath, "You will regret this, I can promise you that."

The call ended. Moon Knight let the cellular device drop the bloodstained floor and walked back up. It did not take a scholar to surmise who was on the other end. The doctor of death mentioned the Kingpin and there was only one man in the entire city to fit such a description.

Wilson Fisk. A business man and so-called philanthropist who controlled both sides of the law. While people celebrated his charities that gave children a chance to escape the gutters the same man was lining his pockets selling other innocents as slaves. Murder, theft, drugs, human trafficking, even the occasional snuff films. The man wanted everything and took and took because he thought himself entitled. He was more a personification of gluttony than a human being.

_'You know what they say; bigger they are the harder they fall. Let's make sure the fatman falls and breaks his everything,'_ Jake said with a grin.

_'But first we need to recuperate, and I have business deal planned for tomorrow. We can't fight crime without our fancy toys and those cost money,'_ Jake said after.

A bright line shined in his face as soon as he stepped foot outside. Moon Knight covered his eyes with his right hand before a voice cried out, "Freeze! Hands in the air." He lowered his arm slightly and looked ahead. Two police officers - a man and a woman - with their guns pointed at his chest. Someone must have heard the screams. Good, saved him the trouble of calling them himself.

"I said hands in the air!" The male officer screamed again. He was an older man - older than him, at least - with light brown hair and a goatee that already had some some small streaks of gray. The woman beside him was younger with light, auburn hair and a much more inexperienced grip on her pistol. He knew the type all too well.

He didn't bother explaining himself; they wouldn't have believed him. Moon Knight raised his hands in the air and they didn't notice the small pellet that dropped from his gauntlets. A bright flash engulfed the alley and the bloodstained warrior shot a grapple line up to the roof while they stumbled in confusion.

He knew coming in that the officers of the law wouldn't approve of him. While some treated criminals with the disdain they deserved others believed in the rule of law and thought themselves wholly righteous despite their ineffectivity. But also knew that he could not survive long without contacts in the law, especially if he was to fight the Kingpin. He needed an alliance, and to do that he'd need to find someone willing to set aside enmity to combat the greater threat.

He arrived at his safehouse and shut the door behind him. He had many such places across the city - one could never know where they would need aid - and this one was of the more crude variety. An abandoned apartment building with barely any furniture save what little he could transport without drawing attention. It would have to do for now. At least he received no injuries in this excursion.

Marc removed his mask and briefly lingered on his bloodstained reflection before he washed away the crimson with cold water, _'Really thought those coppers were gonna shoot you right there.'_ Jake said behind him. Marc didn't reply,_ 'You know the boys in blue are just gonna be even bigger pains in the asses now. Far as they're concerned you're the same as every other lowlife in the city.'_

_'Not to mention how many of them are under the Kingpin's payroll.' _Steven added, _'Even those who aren't directly in his pocket are likely to be encouraged to treat you like you're a leper.'_

_'I do not doubt that. Police Chief Simon Matheson is likely to be under Wilson Fisk's employ. We need to find one who is incorruptible,' _Marc said.

_'Tch. Yeah, fat chance of that! Anyone like that's not gonna wanna work with crazies like us.' _Jake scoffed.

_'I did not say it would be easy, but this is a war that we cannot fight alone,' _Marc replied.

_'I guess so.'_ Steven sighed, _'This is going to be complicated.' _

* * *

Weeks passed and the private war continued. While the citizens continued to praise Fisk, unaware of the gluttonous demon underneath, they fought. He, Marlene and Frenchie undermined his operations wherever they could. He brutalized his men and strung up the ringleaders to serve as a warning to the others, the severity of the punishment matching their crimes.

And yet more and more it began to feel pointless. For every operation they stopped, for every man and woman he left as a warning, more always came. Men and women who were brave, stupid or desperate enough to risk their lives earning scraps while the Kingpin feasted on suffering. They were scared of him, but Fisk scared them more. He was a bogeyman while Fisk was all too real.

And as he expected the police did not make his job easy. Many times he'd stopped a crime only for the police to be there as he left. Many of them didn't even bother to try and force a surrender. He expected that Fisk told Matheson to give a kill on sight order for him and those that were either bribed or too apathetic to question their orders all followed suit.

Except for two people.

Marc covered his mouth with his right hand and focused on the screen of the bulky computer. Gathering information discreetly was difficult at the best of times, but to do so for a police officer was even moreso.

George Stacy and Jean DeWolff. Stacy was a veteran of the force with 20 years of active duty. At 41 years old he was beginning to feel the weight of his age but he showed no signs of slowing down any time soon. He was an honest cop. From what he could glean from his records the man had numerous solved cases and a surprisingly low amount of kills. A man on a mission, it seemed.

DeWolff was a rookie. 24 years old and a fresh graduate of the police academy. If he had to hazard a guess she was partnered with a man nearly two decades her senior so she could gather experience. It might have saved her integrity. If she was paired with anyone else she might've been corrupted into one of Fisk's attack dogs or become another gullible pawn in his chessboard.

The same two people that nearly arrested him on his first excursion. Coincidence or fate?

_'You ain't seriously thinking about this, are ya?'_ Jake huffed, _'Sure the guy tells you to put your hands up first but that doesn't mean he's on our side! He'll put us in prison then we get a little shanking accident!' _

_'He's the best choice we have.'_ Steven put a hand on his chin, _'Regardless of what he thinks of us these files indicate that he hates Kingpin even more. He could not be bought or coerced so an alliance is to our mutual benefit.'_

_'He has stopped his investigations recently due to threats against his daughter.' _The only family he had left. His wife died a few months prior to cancer and from what he gathered there was no contact with extended family,_ 'We could come to an arrangement. He feeds us information and we disrupt the Kingpin's operations. It won't fall back to him and it puts us both one step closer to the fall of Wilson Fisk.'_

_'I still think this is a shit idea, but Marc's the one with the controls.'_ Jake grunted,_ 'Fine then. Just don't say I didn't warn you.'_

It didn't take much difficulty to arrange a meeting. A letter left at his desk talking about Wilson Fisk's threats and the man was willing to do anything. Moon Knight watched as the suited officer walked down the length of the alley with his gun raised and his stance wary. His head snapped to the edges of the rooftops - looking for snipers, perhaps? - and he turned around as soon as Moon Knight landed behind him after a quick jump.

"...You were the one who sent the letter." George Stacy kept the gun trained to his armored chest. His grip was firm and his finger was a scant distance from the trigger, "Did you come here to turn yourself in?"

_'Looks pretty trigger happy. Careful, Marcy.'_

_'Sure I shouldn't be in control for this? I'm more adept at making deals.' _

"I come with an offer."

George Stacy laughed. It was soft and bitter, "You must be joking. What makes you think I'd listen to anything you say?"

"We share a mutual enemy." The older man's eyes narrowed and, just barely, his gun lowered, "Wilson Fisk. I know what he has done to you. He threatened you and your daughter to ensure that you would not investigate his wrongdoings. He was scared of you. He understood that you were one of the very few people capable of taking him from his throne."

"...What are you getting at?"

"Work with me to stop him. He is both our enemy and we gain nothing but playing right into his hands if we remain in conflict. Give me the information I require and I can ensure that those who do his bidding cannot escape their dues."

"I've seen what you've done. The people you brutalized, the bodies you strung up on hooks...what makes you think I'd do _anything_ with you?"

"Strange times call for odd bedfellows. Should you reject my offer could you live with yourself knowing that you let innocents suffer and die because you could not stomach a compromise?" Again the gun lowered, "When you first found me how many innocents had been saved because of my actions? Would you have preferred if those men, women and children were harvested in order to spare the suffering of their tormentors?"

He was silent for a few moments till, eventually, he let out a held breath and put the gun back in its holster, "...Why are you doing this?"

"My reasons are my own. I won't ask why you entered the police force either." People did not understand. To them Khosnu was but a figment of his imagination, "Just know that our goals align, if not our methods. Whatever hatred and distrust you have for me is nothing compared to the enmity we both share for Fisk. Until he has been dealt with I propose an alliance."

"...Why me? There are other cops in the city."

"You are the only one who cares. Surely you've seen it. Those you call your compatriots throw themselves at the Kingpin's feet, and those that don't are blind, willfully or otherwise. You tore away the veil and tossed aside his temptations for the sake of your own values. Not many in this city could make the same claim."

And he understood there was no other way. If he came across any of the Kingpin's machinations his superiors would order him to cease and desist. Then they would follow through on their threats if he didn't comply.

"...Fuck." He shut his eyes briefly and took a deep, slow breath, "Only until Fisk is behind bars. You hear me? We aren't friends and this isn't a permanent arrangement."

"That is all I require. I will be in contact soon."

* * *

He had gotten careless.

Moon Knight stumbled across the rooftops, right arm pressed against his chest as his vision swam. Foolish, foolish, foolish. He had overestimated himself and this was his punishment. Khoshnu was laughing at him now, he was sure.

George Stacy had fed him information - his sixth one - about an operation concerning the smuggling of various drugs into the city. He thought it would be just like the rest but his timing was fortuitous; or at least he thought so at the time. Fisk had come to personally inspect the site and ensure that everything went smoothly. Just him and a few bodyguards.

He'd never be more vulnerable. His penthouse was a fortress - bulletproof glass, state of the art alarm systems and dozens of soldiers willing to die at his command. He would never get a chance to get to Fisk like he did at that moment.

And he failed.

_'He kicked our asses!'_ Jake raged. Steven said nothing and just watched his broken arm,_ 'How the hell did humpty dumpty beat us?! I don't get it!'_

_'We were careless. We assumed him weak and vulnerable due to the success we've had the weeks prior.' _Marc looked down at the ground. He'd fought him in combat and the gluttonous demon had more than proved his match. His right arm was broken and it took all the chi manipulation Khonshu had gifted him to even return it to a barely functional state. Aside from that he had multiple cracked ribs, his left eye was swollen shut and he likely had a concussion.

_'We should've prepared more. Instead we got greedy, figured we could end this war here and now,'_ Steven sighed, _'We should've known it wouldn't be that easy.'_

The sounds of soft, rhythmic taps drew his attention. Moon Knight pushed himself off the wall he was leaning against and stared at the man walking towards him. He was young, perhaps the same age as he, with light red hair and a neatly pressed gray suit. His eyes were covered by thick, crimson shades and in his hands he held a polished wooden cane that he tapped in front of him as he walked.

Anyone else would've assumed he was a blind man. Moon Knight knew better.

"Well now, that was interesting show." The bespectacled man grinned. It reminded him of a shark's smile, "To think you'd be so brazen as to attack Mr. Fisk. My, my but aren't you a bold one!"

"Matt Murdock." The Kingpin's lawyer and his right hand. One didn't get to a position like that without a ruthlessness that would make even the most hardened criminals pale, "Have you come to kill me?"

"Now why would I do that? Mr. Fisk was very adamant that I keep a low profile so you can think of this as an...informal meeting." He smiled, "I'll admit I was curious on who would dare stand against the Kingpin. Mr. Fisk as most of the city bribed, cowed or left ignorant and yet here you are, waging a one man crusade. And for what? Some antiquated sense of justice? Or do you just like to kill people and are looking for acceptable targets?"

"I will not entertain your questions, pawn. Leave and return to the side of your master."

"Well now, isn't that rude?" His shoulders sagged, "Fine then. I'll leave a present behind, though. To commemorate our meeting."

He snapped his fingers and, as if they materialized from thin air, ninjas of the Hand fell around him. The first one immediately attempted to slash at him and Moon Knight blocked it with the gauntlets of his left hand, "The Hand are connected to Fisk..." He kicked the puppet away and when he looked back found Matt Murdock gone. He was one of their students, then.

There were ten of them. At any other time they would've been manageable, but it was difficult now in his current state, _'Hey, I ain't taking over for this one. You fucked this up so you gotta clean up the mess,'_ Jake said. Again Marc ignored him and cut the stomach of a ninja with his bladed cestus. He wasn't planning to relinquish control just yet.

He managed to take three down before sheer numbers overwhelmed him. Four of them held him against the wall while the remaining three aimed their blades at his vital spots. Moon Knight struggled and growled, but their holds remained firm and death inched ever closer. It wouldn't be the end. Khoshnu would bring him back so long as he remained useful.

It did not mean he would go easy, however.

Just barely, he heard what sounded like the fluttering of wings overhead before the three poised to strike were suddenly convulsing on the ground. The ninjas looked to their fallen comrades in surprise and their grips loosened. Moon Knight cut one's throat before he grabbed another and headbutted him.

One of the remaining two was hit with what looked like a bolt of lightning and joined his convulsing allies. Moon Knight tackled the remaining one to the ground and stomped hard on his face twice before doing the same to the one he'd headbutted. Ninjas of the Hand learned to use chi in order to shut down their pain receptors. The only thing that could take them down was overwhelming and precise force.

Panting and barely keeping upright, Moon Knight stumbled forward and used a nearby vent to keep himself balanced. Someone had come to his aid, someone he hadn't formed an alliance with beforehand.

"That was messy." A woman landed in front of him. Even among himself and the incapacitated ninjas she stood out. A black and yellow suit that covered every inch of her body with two sets of crystalline blue wings at her back. Her head was covered with a helmet before she tapped its side and it suddenly retracted back into her suit to expose the face underneath.

She was beautiful. Her face lacked any scars or imperfections wand his short, auburn hair was styled in a short cut that complimented her features. Her mouth was quirked upwards in a cocky smile and she regarded him the same way one would look at a passing amusement.

He knew who she was. Janet van Dyne, alias the Wasp. It was difficult to live in New York without being aware of her identity. A scientist who founded the Dyne particles, the head of her own company, the owner of her own fashion line and a model in her own right. And also Superhero. Magazines touted her as a true modern day woman, someone for all to aspire to the same way one would Tony Stark or the fictional Captain America.

"Wasp...why did you help me?"

_'Is that really the first think you should say?'_ Steven shook his head.

"Well, that's an odd way to say 'thank you'. From where I'm standing I just saved your life." She crossed her arms and tilted her head slightly, "Come on, it's not that hard. Say 'Thank you, Wasp'."

"You have my thanks." Regardless of her motivations he owed her his life.

"Could be a bit more sincere, but I'll take what I can get." She shrugged lightly, "As for why I helped you...well, when you see ninjas about to kill a guy out on a rooftop you get curious. These are the Hand, right? I've only seen them on videos but I know they're bad news. I figured that if you were fighting them you were either a good guy or a bad guy got on their bad side. Which one are you?"

"That would depend on your viewpoint. I found myself in conflict with their master and they saw fit to end my life."

"Wait...are you the ghost that's been running around trying to give Fisk a heart attack? Huh, I knew I should've recognized you. The white outfit's kind of a giveaway." She looked him up and down, "Well, it's mostly covered in _blood,_ but still. Wasn't even sure you were real. No one had any videos of you and it sounded like some kind of scary story criminals tell themselves around a campfire."

_'Quick, tell her you're not real. Maybe that'll scare her.'_ Jake snickered.

"You should not have gotten involved. If Fisk finds out of your rescue then he will come for you."

"What, you think I'm scared of an overgrown egg? I've dealt with worse." Cocky. She thought herself invincible. It would be the death of her if she wasn't careful, "I'm not exactly quaking in my boots here."

"If you are certain." No use in arguing with her.

"So I'd love to stay and chat with an actual bogeyman but I've got some stuff to do. Need me to take you to a hospital or something?"

"I have my own means of healing myself. Do not trouble yourself on my account."

"O...kay, if you say so. Maybe I'll see you around." She walked to the edge of the roof before she turned around, winked and let herself fall. The fluttering of wings came after and soon she was out of sight.

_'Hubba hubba, I think I'm in love,'_ Jake whistled.

_'It was an...interesting meeting. Perhaps she could be a useful ally?'_ Jake said.

Moon Knight said nothing and returned to his safehouse. As before he followed the same routine of patching over his more grievous injuries then spending the rest of the night meditating to heal his remaining wounds. Khoshnu could not give him abilities beyond those of humans, but this 'chi' allowed him to function beyond even normal limits. Oftentimes it was a necessity in this line of work.

The morning sun was high in the sky by the time his meditation finished. Marc dressed himself in a (slightly worn) suit and stepped outside of the abandoned building. He had failed. The operation would likely continue elsewhere and Fisk had gained a victory over him. He needed to convene with George Stacy in order to plan their next move.

Marc knew where he lived. A house in the suburbs of Queens that he moved to a few years prior. He took the train to the address and walked along the streets to the household. It was an odd experience. The last time he'd lived in anywhere similar was almost a decade prior. He left his family to join the army at 17 and hadn't gone back to Chicago outside of attending his father's funeral. His brother never forgave him for that.

The Stacy house was plain, almost picturesque in a way. Marc made his way to the door and knocked twice.

"I'll get it!" A loud, high pitched voice shouted. The door pulled back and he was greeted with a small blonde girl who looked up at him with curious blue eyes.

Marc forced a smile, "Hello. I'm here to see-"

"Gwen, who is it?" George Stacy stepped out of the kitchen and stopped when he saw him, "Um...can I help you?"

"Yes. We need to discuss our...partnership." It was vague enough, but judging by the way the older man's eyes hardened he understood. He stepped in front of the little girl and put her behind him, "Might we speak alone? This business is private."

"Gwen...go play with Peter for a bit, okay? I have a meeting."

"Okay. I'll see you later, dad!"

Gwen Stacy hugged her father briefly before running next door to her neighbor. Marc caught a brief glimpse of a brown haired, bespectacled child greeting her at the door before George Stacy suddenly grabbed him by his shirt collar and pulled him inside, "What the hell are you doing here?!" He snarled, slamming him against the wall with enough force to tip over a nearby vase, "Coming to my home? Are you insane?!"

"Plans have changed. I failed my mission a night prior and the Kingpin will be put on the defensive. I could not afford to wait."

"What do you mean you failed?" His grip loosened.

"Fisk was present at the site. I attempted to fight and I lost." Even now it still felt bitter to admit, "Now we need to continue on the offensive else we could lose whatever advantage we've mustered. Do you understand?"

"...Let's not talk here. There's a park I know around here." He put on a coat hanging nearby and grabbed his gun, "...Don't come to my house ever again."

"Understood."

He followed George outside. As they passed the garden he found his attention drawn to the two children playing on the neighbor's front yard. Gwen Stacy and her friend. Nothing more than ordinary children, but for some reason he felt the tug of Khoshnu at the back of his mind. He shook his head and ignored it. It wasn't his concern. Right now his only focus was the Kingpin.

* * *

**End of the first (and possibly only) Moon Knight chapter. As mentioned above I'm going for a more Gotham vibe so we see some changes in the characters: Moon Knight is mostly the same but hasn't gotten used to switching personalities yet; George Stacy is active and in an angry place since it's after his wife's recent death; Wasp is cocky and egotistical rather than mature and the voice of reason etc etc.**

**This also allows me to show off a bit of Wilson Fisk since he was killed off-screen in Looking Glass. Here he's Moon Knight's main antagonist while Matt plays more of a support/observer role. We know Moon Knight is doomed to fail stopping Matt but Fisk and other baddies are fair game. **

**Questions:**

**1\. So what do you guys think of the chapter? Like it? Hate it? Interested in future updates? Regardless of the answer the next chapter will go back tot he Morbius arc so we can get some lighter stuff and more NoirGwen couple-y interactions.**

**2\. This is more a character question, but do you guys consider Cindy to be Laura's mom or not? A friend mentioned that Cindy felt less like a mother and more like a big sister or a glorified babysitter than Laura's parent given their interactions. **

**Review Answers:**

**rc48177 - Jessica and Luke didn't really 'settle down', though. They're both active heroes. Also, Lana and Noir are fraying? I don't recall writing them as arguing or becoming distant.**

**RedHood001 - Why would Gwen have to reveal herself? As long as Peter doesn't let anyone follow him back home Gwen can keep her identity secret. Not like they're the type to have a public wedding.**

**Brave2000 - She's not 100% symbiote, but she's a superhuman with a unique genetic structure making her immune to radiation. Also, sexual tension? Lana's moving on from her crush.**

**ToastyIce - Problem is telling the kids that their dad is a killer vigilante. **

**Demon dark mezzo sangue - The Batfam is also memetically dysfunctional with Bruce being a terrible father in a lot of story arcs. As for Tony providing Noir tech...why bother? Moon Knight already provides Noir with technology. His guns, the motorcycles and various other gadgets come from Moon Knight. That and Stark likely doesn't care about Noir. He's too small time to bother with. **

**Krolikson - Why criticize if people keep asking for it? Also, not a fan and don't plan to watch.**

**Yohart Meltz - The problem is kids. Hard to raise a kids when one is a Superhero and the other is technically a wanted vigilante. **


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